Topics in the News: Israel & Palestine

Cut military spending by at least 50% and close the 700+ foreign military bases. Ensure a just transition that replaces reductions in military jobs with jobs in renewable energy, transportation and green infrastructure development.

Stop U.S. financial and military support to human rights abusers. Barring substantial changes in their policies, this would include Saudi Arabia, Israel and Egypt.

Since its founding more than 60 years ago, Israel and the United States have been steadfast, trusted, and reliable allies. I unequivocally support the right of a Jewish, democratic state of Israel to exist, and to be safe and secure.
The U.S.-Israel relationship is rooted in shared values and common interests, based on a commitment to liberty, pluralism, and the rule of law. These values transcend time, and they are the basis of our unbreakable bond.

To me, it is a moral imperative to support and defend Israel, and I am committed to ensuring its long-term security by maintaining its qualitative military edge.
Israel must be able to defend itself from the serious threats it faces from terrorist organizations to hostile states, including Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah, and others.

I am a strong proponent of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which I believe to be in the interest of Israel and the United States, with a Jewish, democratic state of Israel and a state for the Palestinian people.
The U.S. can and should play an active role in promoting a diplomatic resolution to the conflict that is agreed to by the parties, but
I do not believe that a lasting peace can be imposed from the outside or that either party should take unilateral steps--such as the
Palestinians' application for UN membership--that move the parties further away from negotiations.

Pence joined 14 other GOP governors in a letter to President Obama opposing the Iran nuclear deal: "I am opposed to this agreement because it will not make the US or our most cherished ally, Israel, safer. Instead, it promises Iran a lifting of US nuclea
related sanctions for an agreement on Iran's nuclear weapons program that will only halt its ambitions temporarily, rather than permanently dismantle its nuclear desires," Pence wrote.

The letter asserted: "This agreement would lead to the lifting of
sanctions on Iran without any guarantee that Iran's drive toward obtaining a nuclear weapon will be halted or even slowed. Iran is a state sponsor of terrorism, and it should not be permitted any pathway toward obtaining a nuclear weapon, now or ever.
The lifting of federal sanctions that would only result in Iran having more money available to fund terrorist groups and attacks. We intend to ensure that the various state-level sanctions that are now in effect remain in effect.

We must make clear to the world that the U.S.-Israel alliance is once again a strategic bedrock for the United States.

America's security is significantly enhanced by a strong Israel. Israel has been, is, and always will be the Middle East bulwark
in defense of the West.

A Cruz administration will on day one recognize Jerusalem as the eternal, undivided capital of Israel and the US embassy will be moved to Israel's capital city.

A Cruz administration will continue to support
Israel's regional qualitative military edge and make sure that Israel has everything it needs to defend itself.

We should strengthen our partnership with Israel by supporting cooperative efforts such as missile defense to counter terrorism.

A President Cruz will immediately reassess US policy towards the Palestinian Authority. Not one penny of American tax dollars should go to an organization that incites hatred against Jews and seeks to partner with the terrorist group Hamas.

Donald Trump on Principles & Values
: Mar 11, 2016I have a daughter and son-in-law who are Jewish

When asked about relations with Israel, Donald Trump responded, "I have tremendous love for Israel. I happen to have a son-in-law and a daughter that are Jewish, OK? And two grandchildren that are Jewish." Is that true?

We fact-checked and found that
Trump's daughter Ivanka, converted to Judaism in 2009 and is raising Donald's grandchildren under Jewish tradition. According to Vogue magazine (Feb. 25, 2015), Ivanka in 2007 met her future husband Jared Kushner, who is an Orthodox Jew and a real estate
developer in New York. Ivanka converted to Judaism prior to their marriage in 2009, and they keep a kosher home and, Ivanak says, "we observe the Sabbath; from Friday to Saturday we don't make phone calls. It's an amazing thing when you're so connected--
for [our daughter] Arabella to know that she has me, undivided, one day a week We don't do anything except play with each other, hang out with one another, go on walks together. Pure family.

Jill Stein on Foreign Policy
: Feb 29, 2016Stop US funding and support of the Israeli occupation

The Tribune asked Stein about the Israel-Palestine conflict. Stein began, "We need to stop aligning with our favored country for that reason alone. We need to stop arming and funding governments committing war crimes and violating human rights."

Our actions perpetuate an "absolute disaster of a policy. We're spending $8 million a day supplying the Israeli military." That money goes to continuing the policies of home demolitions, apartheid, and massacres, Stein said. The policies are "flagrant
violations of international law" that will eventually have the effect of "driving Israel out of existence" by its own actions.

Stein has hope that a solution can be reached, she said, but she believes the US needs to step back and let things take
their own course. "Most authorities say a two-state solution is no longer possible due to the carving up of the territories by Israel and the occupation," Stein said. "My feeling is we shouldn't be in the business of telling them how to work it out."

TRUMP: I have a great relationship with Israel. If I could bring peace, that would be a fantastic. It would be one of my greatest achievements as president.

KASICH: I've been a strong supporter of Israel longer than anybody on this stage.

CRUZ: Donald and Hillary want to be neutral between Israel and the Palestinians.
If I'm president, America will stand unapologetically with Israel. The notion of neutrality is based upon the left buying into moral relativism that is pitched in the media.
It is not equivalent. When you have terrorists murdering innocent women and children, they are not equivalent to the IDF officers protecting Israel.

John Kasich on Foreign Policy
: Feb 25, 2016I have a longer track record with Israel than any candidate

CRUZ: Donald and Hillary want to be neutral between Israel and the Palestinians. If I'm president, America will stand unapologetically with Israel.
The notion of neutrality is based upon the left buying into moral relativism that is pitched in the media. It is not equivalent.
When you have terrorists murdering innocent women and children, they are not equivalent to the IDF officers protecting Israel.

TRUMP: I have a great relationship with Israel. If I could bring peace, that would be a fantastic.
It would be one of my greatest achievements as president.

KASICH: I've been a strong supporter of Israel longer than anybody on this stage.

As far as Israel is concerned, when I was there several months ago, I talked to a lot of people. I couldn't find a single one who didn't think that we had turned our backs on Israel. You know, they are a strategic partner for us but also recognize
that we have a Judeo Christian foundation, and the last thing we need to do is to reject Israel. It doesn't mean that we can't be fair to other people. You want to be fair to all the children around but you have a special attention for your own child.

Donald Trump on Foreign Policy
: Feb 25, 2016Don't take sides with Israel, so we can lead negotiations

Q: You said about the ongoing conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians -- "Let me be sort of a neutral guy. I don't want to say whose fault it is; I don't think it helps." How do you remain neutral when the U.S. considers Israel to be America's
closest ally in the Middle East?

TRUMP: President Obama has treated Israel horribly. I have very close ties to Israel. I've received the Tree of Life Award and many of the greatest awards given by Israel. As president, however, there's nothing that
I would rather do to bring peace to Israel and its neighbors generally. And I think it serves no purpose to say that you have a good guy and a bad guy. Now, I may not be successful in doing it. It's probably the toughest negotiation anywhere in the world
of any kind. But it doesn't help if I start saying, "I am very pro-Israel." It doesn't do any good to start demeaning the neighbors, because I would love to do something with regard to negotiating peace, finally, for Israel and for their neighbors.

RUBIO: He thinks a Palestine [and Israeli settlement] is a real estate deal. The Palestinians are not a real estate deal, Donald.

TRUMP: A deal is a deal. Let me tell you that. I learned a long time ago.

RUBIO: A deal is not a deal when you're dealing with terrorists. Have you ever negotiated with terrorists?

TRUMP: I'm a negotiator. I've done very well over the years through negotiation. It's very important that we do that. In all fairness, Marco is not a negotiator.
I watched him melt down and I'll tell you, it was one of the saddest things I've ever seen. You will never bring peace.

Marco Rubio on Foreign Policy
: Feb 25, 2016No honest broker on Israel: we are on their side

Q: Donald Trump said about the ongoing conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians -- "Let me be sort of a neutral guy. I don't want to say whose fault it is; I don't think it helps." What's wrong with being an honest broker?

RUBIO: The position
Donald has taken is an anti-Israel position: you cannot be an honest broker in a dispute between two sides in which one of the sides is constantly acting in bad faith. The Palestinian Authority has walked away from multiple efforts to make peace, very
generous offers from the Israelis. The Palestinians teach their 4-year-old children that killing Jews is a glorious thing. The bottom line is, a deal between Israel and the Palestinians, given the current makeup of the Palestinians, is not possible.
The next president of the United States needs to be someone like me who will stand firmly on the side of Israel. I will be on Israel's side every single day because they are the only pro-American, free enterprise democracy in the entire Middle East.

CLINTON: A group of national security experts issued a concerning statement about Senator Sanders's views on foreign policy and national security, pointing out some of the comments he has made on these issues, such as inviting Iranian troops into
Syria to try to resolve the conflict there; putting them right at the doorstep of Israel. Asking Saudi Arabia and Iran to work together, when they can't stand each other and are engaged in a proxy battle right at this moment.
You are voting for a president and a commander in chief.

SANDERS: I concede that Secretary Clinton, who was secretary of State for four years, has more experience in foreign affairs. But experience is not the only point, judgment is. In terms of Iran
and in terms of Saudi Arabia, of course they hate each other. That's no great secret. But John Kerry, who is I think doing a very good job, has tried to at least get these people in the room together because both of them are being threatened by ISIS.

Q [to Clinton]: Sen. Sanders called for moving as aggressively as we can to normalize relations with Iran. You've criticized him for that. Can you explain?

CLINTON: Absolutely. We have to figure out how to deal with Iran as the principal state sponsor
of terrorism in the world. They are destabilizing governments in the region. They continue to support Hezbollah and Hamas in Lebanon against Israel. If we were to normalize relations right now, we would remove one of the biggest pieces of leverage we
have to try to influence and change Iranian behaviour. The president doesn't think we should. I certainly don't think we should. I believe we have to take this step by step to try to reign in Iranian aggression.

SANDERS: I never said that. I think we
should move forward as quickly as we can. They are a sponsor of terrorism around the world and we have to address that. A number of years ago, people were saying, "normal relationship with Cuba, what a bad and silly idea." Well, change has come.

Q: Senator Sanders called for moving as aggressively as we can to normalize relations with Iran. You've criticized him for that. Can you explain?

CLINTON: Absolutely. We have to figure out how to deal with Iran as the principal state sponsor
of terrorism in the world. They are destabilizing governments in the region. They continue to support Hezbollah and Hamas in Lebanon against Israel. If we were to normalize relations right now, we would remove one of the biggest pieces of leverage we
have to try to influence and change Iranian behaviour. The president doesn't think we should. I certainly don't think we should. I believe we have to take this step by step to try to reign in Iranian aggression.

SANDERS: I never said that. I think we
should move forward as quickly as we can. They are a sponsor of terrorism around the world and we have to address that. A number of years ago, people were saying, "normal relationship with Cuba, what a bad and silly idea." Well, change has come.

Tim Kaine on War & Peace
: Jan 20, 2016Iran is the real threat; Israel can make peace with Arabs

After spending six days in the Middle East, Kaine said he believes that Israel's emerging cooperation with some of its neighbors is cause for optimism. Kaine spoke with officials in Israel, the West Bank and Turkey, as well as with nongovernmental
organizations.

Kaine said that in previous trips to Israel, he often came away frustrated with the prospect of Israelis and their Arab neighbors living in peace. "When you talk with senior leadership, you tend to hear the same thing over & over again.

Tim Kaine on War & Peace
: Jan 20, 2016Iran is the real threat; Israel can make peace with Arabs

[On a 6-day trip around the Mideast], Kaine said that in previous trips to Israel, he often came away frustrated with the prospect of Israelis and their Arab neighbors living in peace. "When you talk with senior leadership, you tend to hear the same
thing over and over again. There is kind of a staleness to the conversation frankly," he said. During his trip, he was encouraged to realize that "some countries really view Israel as a partner," he said. "There is growing cooperation between
Israel and many Arab nations in the region, the Gulf state- nations," specifically Saudi Arabia, as well as Jordan and Egypt.

Many of the Arab leaders he spoke with pointed to Iran as a real threat to them, not Israel, he said.
Should a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians be reached--and Kaine doesn't see that happening in the near future--he believes Arab countries will support it "and even put resources into security."

We need to move our embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem to send a serious signal that we're back in the game with Israel and sign an agreement that makes sure that the world knows that they will have technological superiority.
We need to get back in the game as it relates to our Arab nations. The rest of the world is moving away from us towards other alliances because we are weak.

Click for Jeb Bush on other issues.
Source: Fox Business Republican 2-tier debate

While she agrees with [Democratic progressive challenger Senator Bernie] Sanders on many issues, she points out in the interview a couple of important differences.
She appears to be passionately against the continued funding of countries with human rights abuses that she believes are in violation of International Law such as: Saudi Arabia and Israel.
Although Sanders does not emphasize his position on this issue while on the campaign trail, she is correct that he definitely does support their continued funding.
Some of his supporters may not realize that at this point, partly because it does not seem to be a major focus of his campaign. The two candidates do differ on foreign policy and foreign aid.

Click for Jill Stein on other issues.
Source: Green Party press release on interview in Denton Times Life

She's got a lot of experience, but her policies have proven disastrous. If you look at foreign policy, every region in the world has gotten worse. Under her leadership, we abandon the nation of Israel. Under her leadership, radical
Islamic terrorism has been on to the rise. Under her leadership, and Obama's leadership, Iran is getting $100 billion dollars, and on the verge of getting a nuclear weapon.

Click for Ted Cruz on other issues.
Source: Fox Business/WSJ Second Tier debate

I've never met Putin, but he is an organized crime figure that runs a country. His calculation in the Middle East is that he has seen what this president has done, which is nothing. There is only one pro-American free enterprise democracy in the
Middle East, it is the state of Israel. We have a president that treats the prime minister of Israel with less respect than what he gives the ayatollah in Iran. So our allies in the region don't trust us.

Click for Marco Rubio on other issues.
Source: Fox Business/WSJ Second Tier debate

We are a country of laws. We need borders. We will have a wall [on the Mexican border]. The wall will be built. The wall will be successful. And if you think walls don't work, all you have to do is ask Israel. The wall works, believe me. Properly done.
Believe me. [OnTheIssues note: Trump refers to the "separation barrier" that Israel built surrounding the Palestinian areas of the West Bank. It has reduced terrorist attacks, but is controversial in the peace process].

Click for Donald Trump on other issues.
Source: Fox Business/WSJ First Tier debate

John Kasich on War & Peace
: Nov 10, 2015Work with allies like Israel, Egypt, Jordan

In Syria, yes, a no-fly zone in the north, and a no-fly zone on the Jordanian border. Jordan, we want the king to reign for years.
Egypt, they have been our ally and a moderating force in the Middle East. In Israel, we have no better ally in the world, and no more criticizing them in public, we should support them.

Click for John Kasich on other issues.
Source: Fox Business/WSJ Second Tier debate

Marco Rubio on War & Peace
: Nov 10, 2015ISIS hates our way of life; either they win or we win

Radical terrorist groups are not just in Syria and in Iraq, ISIS is now in Libya. They are a significant presence in Libya, Afghanistan, and a growing presence in Pakistan. Soon they will be in Turkey. They will try Jordan. They will try Saudi Arabia.
They are coming to us. They don't hate us simply because we support Israel. They hate us because of our values. They hate us because our girls go to school. They hate us because women drive in the United States. Either they win or we win.

Click for Marco Rubio on other issues.
Source: Fox Business/WSJ Second Tier debate

Q: You have been saying for months that we need troops there on the ground to battle ISIS. What do you think of the president sending in these 50 Special Forces operators?

GRAHAM: Here's what I've said, I intend to destroy ISIL.
They want three things: they want to purify the Islamic faith and take it back to the 1100s, they want to destroy the state of Israel the attack infidels like us. President Obama said he will degrade and destroy ISIL.
Sending 50 American Special Forces into Syria shows that Obama is not all in, it is a sign of weakness to ISIL. And to our allies, sending 50 troops means that we're not committed to destroying ISIL. And if we're not committed to destroying
ISIL, they will attack us here. These 50 American special operators are going into a very bad spot with no chance of winning and at the end of the day, this will not destroy ISIL.

As President, I would vigorously support [President Obama's nuclear] agreement with Iran. We must exercise a cautious skepticism of course, but we must also recognize that across history, such is always how peace begins. We have fundamental disagreements
with Iran. We cannot tolerate the exporting of terrorism, and we must remain committed to defending the Israeli people. But this first step is an historic achievement. We should celebrate it, and work to make it succeed.

We are challenging the establishment parties' silence on crucial life-or-death issues.In foreign policy, only our campaign is calling for an immediate weapons embargo to the Middle East and an end to drone warfare. Only our campaign calls
for ending financial support for governments violating human rights and committing war crimes, including Israel and Saudi Arabia. We are the only campaign to call for cutting U.S. military spending at least 50%. And leading on global nuclear disarmament.

You have not heard a plan about Iran from any politician up here, here is my plan. On day one in the Oval Office, I will make two phone calls, the first to my good friend to Bibi Netanyahu to reassure him we will stand with the state of Israel.

The second, to the supreme leader, to tell him that unless and until he opens every military and every nuclear facility to real anytime, anywhere inspections by our people, not his, we, the
United States of America, will make it as difficult as possible and move money around the global financial system.

We can do that, we don't need anyone's cooperation to do it.
And every ally and every adversary we have in this world will know that the United States in America is back in the leadership business, which is how we must stand with our allies.

As it relates to Iran, it's not a strategy to tear up an agreement. A strategy would be how do we confront Iran? And, the first thing that we need to do is to establish our commitment to Israel which has been altered by this administration.
And, make sure that they have the most sophisticated weapons to send a signal to Iran that we have Israel's back. If we do that, it's going to create a healthier deterrent effect than anything else I can think of.

These are dangerous times that we live in. And the next president better be someone that understands these issues and has good judgment about them because the number one issue that a president will ever confront, and the most important obligation
that the federal government has, is to keep this nation safe. We are not doing that. We are eviscerating our military. And we have a president that is more respectful to the ayatollah in Iran than he is to the prime minister of Israel.

Mike Huckabee on War & Peace
: Sep 16, 2015Conflict with Iran is about survival of Western civilization

[The Iranian nuclear deal] is really about the survival of Western civilization. This is not just a little conflict with a Middle Eastern country. This threatens Israel immediately, this threatens the entire Middle East, but it threatens the
United States of America. And we can't treat a nuclear Iranian government as if it is just some government that would like to have power. This is a government for 36 years has killed Americans, they kidnapped Americans, they have maimed Americans.
They have sponsored terrorist groups, Hamas and Hezbollah, and they threaten the very essence of Western civilization. To give them this agreement, that the president treats like the Magna Carta, but Iranians treat it like it's toilet paper, and we
must, simply, make it very clear that the next president, one of us on this stage, will absolutely not honor that agreement, and will destroy it and will be tough with Iran, because otherwise, we put every person in this world in a very dangerous place.

Mike Huckabee on War & Peace
: Sep 16, 2015People won't bully us if we have best military in history

Q [to PAUL and HUCKABEE]: How will the world look different in your presidency?

Sen. Rand PAUL: War is the last resort, not the first resort. And, that when we go to war, we go to war in a constitutional way, which means that we have to vote on it,
that war is initiated by Congress, not by the president.

HUCKABEE: At the end of my presidency I would like to believe that the world would be a safe place, and there wouldn't be the threats. not only to the U.S., but to Israel and our allies,
never send them to a mission without all the resources necessary, but people wouldn't bully us anymore. Because they would know that that would be an invitation to their destruction.

Bernie has described the entrenched conflict between Israel and the Palestinians as both depressing and difficult, and considers the conflict one of the most important issues in the Middle East. He acknowledges that there is no magic solution to the
problem. Bernie sees many other conflicts in the Middle East as exacerbating the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Jewish Heritage: Bernie is Jewish, but he does not favor Israel over the Palestinians, nor does he otherwise let his religion influence
his positions regarding the conflict.

Two-State Solution: Bernie believes that Israel and the Palestinians can, and should, peacefully co-exist: "Israel has a right to exist in security, and at the same time the Palestinians have a state of their own.

On Netanyahu & Iran: Bernie is not a big supporter of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and believes that diplomacy, not military action or economic sanctions, can keep Israel safe from Iran.

Ben Carson on Foreign Policy
: Aug 16, 2015Obama has turned his back on Israel

Q: As president, you say you would revoke the current Iran deal and negotiate a better one and you also are fiercely critical of President Obama. In article you wrote for "The Jerusalem Post" in which you suggested the President was anti-Semitic; is he?

CARSON: All you have to do is go to Israel and talk to average people. And I couldn't find a single person there who didn't feel that this administration had turned their backs on Israel. And I think the position of president of the
United States should be one where you begin to draw people together behind a vision. Not one where you castigate those who believe differently from you.

Q: what specifically is anti-Semitic in what the President is saying?

CARSON: I think anything
is anti-Semitic that is against the survival of a state that is surrounded by enemies and by people who want to destroy them. And to ignore that and act like everything is normal there and that these people are paranoid, I think that's anti-Semitic.

A: I have been going to Israel for 42 years. My first trip was in 1973. I have been dozens and dozens of times. I have got a lot of friends there.
I will be visiting with a number of officials and discussing the Iranian deal, because I think it's the most dangerous situation that we face, not just for the Middle East, but for the rest of the world.
This is essentially arming and equipping a terrorist state. The Iranian government is not to be trusted. And for 36 years, they kidnapped Americans. They have killed Americans. They hold Americans hostage right now.
And we're being pushed to get into a deal that gives us nothing, but gives the Iranians the capacity to ultimately end up with a nuclear weapon, and that's just insane.

Q: The first budget your proposed as senator cut all financial aid to Israel. You have since changed your view on that issue. What made you change your mind?

PAUL: I've said I would cut spending, and I've said exactly where. Each one of my budgets has
taken a meat axe to foreign aid, because I think we ought to quit sending it to countries that hate us. I think we ought to quit sending it to countries that burn our flag. Israel is not one of those. But even Benjamin Netanyahu said that ultimately,
they will be stronger when they're independent. My position is exactly the same. We shouldn't borrow money from China to send it anywhere, but why don't we start with eliminating aid to our enemies.

Q: OK, but you still say that Israel could be one of
the countries that is cut from financial aid?

PAUL: Out of your surplus, you can help your allies, and Israel is a great ally. And this is no particular animus of Israel, but we cannot give away money we don't have.

Q: In February you said that we needed to gain partners in the Arab world. Which Arab country not already in the U.S. led coalition has potential to be our greatest partner?

WALKER: We need to focus on the ones we have.
You look at Egypt, probably the best relationship we've had in Israel, at least in my lifetime, incredibly important. You look at the Saudis--in fact, earlier this year, I met with Saudi leaders, and leaders from the United Arab Emirates, and
I asked them what's the greatest challenge in the world today? Set aside the Iran deal. They said it's the disengagement of America. We are leading from behind under the Obama-Clinton doctrine--America's a great country.
We need to stand up and start leading again, and we need to have allies, not just in Israel, but throughout the Persian Gulf.

Ben Carson on Principles & Values
: Aug 6, 2015Important experience is having a brain, not being politician

Q: You admit that you have had to study up on foreign policy, saying there's a lot to learn. You've suggested that the Baltic States are not a part of NATO, just months ago you were unfamiliar with the major political parties and government in Israel,
and domestically, you thought Alan Greenspan had been treasury secretary instead of federal reserve chair. Aren't these basic mistakes, and don't they raise legitimate questions about whether you are ready to be president?

CARSON:
Well, I could take issue with all of those things, but we don't have time. But I will say, the thing that is probably most important is having a brain, and to be able to figure things out and learn things very rapidly. Experience comes from a large
number of different arenas, and America became a great nation early on not because it was flooded with politicians, but because it was flooded with people who understood the value of personal responsibility, hard work, creativity & innovation.

The president can't tell you what we got [with the Iranian nuclear deal]. I'll tell you what the world got. The world has a burgeoning nuclear power that didn't, as the Soviets, say "we might defend ourselves in a war." What the Iranians have said
is, "we will wipe Israel off the face of the map, and we will bring death to America." When someone points a gun at your head and loads it, by God, you ought to take them seriously, and we need to take that seriously.

Click for Mike Huckabee on other issues.
Source: Fox News/Facebook Top Ten First Tier debate transcript

Q: Diplomats are suggesting that an Iran nuclear deal could be announced as soon as tomorrow. Your reaction?

JINDAL: I think a bad deal is worse than no deal. I fear this administration could start a nuclear arms race in the Middle East.
Sunni countries like Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Turkey are likely going to want their own nuclear capabilities This would be a threat to Israel, to Europe, to America. We're talking about an existential threat to the region, to the United States.
Never mind the fact that we're not even asking Iran to recognize Israel, to cut off ties to terrorism, to release American prisoners. I'm just talking about giving up enriched uranium, giving up all their centrifuges, anytime, anywhere inspections.
Those are the basic tenets of a basic deal. And it doesn't look like we're getting any of those things.

Ted Cruz on War & Peace
: Jun 30, 2015We have no greater friend than Israel in Middle East

A deep and abiding passion has been strengthening our friendship with the nation of Israel, an alliance that has been profoundly undermined in the Obama administration. Unfortunately, over the past six years, the Obama administration has demonstrated an
unprecedented hostility to the Jewish state, and its actions have weakened not only our alliance but Israel's very security.

I believe we have no greater friend in the Middle East.
Like us, Israel is a nation of immigrants, a country based on ideas, on our shared Judeo-Christian, democratic values. I also believe that from a purely American point of view, supporting Israel is tremendously beneficial to our national
security interests. It is also in our economic interests. Since being elected, I have visited Israel three times and have worked hard to repair the damage the administration has done to this vital relationship.

Donald Trump on Foreign Policy
: Jun 16, 2015More sanctions on Iran; more support of Israel

Trump has said that the U.S. is mishandling current Iran negotiations and should have walked away from the table once Tehran reportedly rejected the idea
of sending enriched uranium to Russia. He would increase sanctions on Iran. Trump has been sharply critical of the Obama administration's handling of relations with Israel and has called for a closer alliance with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu.

Bush would cancel any deal produced by President Obama's negotiations with Iran. In an op-ed in March, he argued that the deal would allow Iran to intimidate the Middle East.
On Israel, Bush has called for a stronger relationship with both the Jewish state and current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Where do Jeb and Marco agree on the issues? So many that we summarize them by category, including that both oppose abortion; affirmative action; and same-sex marriage. Both favor stricter criminal enforcement; favor gun rights; favor the War on Drugs;
and oppose ObamaCare. Both support tax cuts; both support expanded energy production. Both support free trade; both would keep the Cuban embargo; both support dealing more toughly with Russia; both support Israel unflinchingly.

The bottom line: Jeb and Marco differ more on style than on the issues. But if you are a firebrand conservative, neither Jeb nor Marco will thrill you, although they pass all the standard Republican "litmus tests." If you prefer a safe bet, or support
the Republican establishment, then Jeb is your candidate. If you prefer looking forward to the future, or addressing an important new demographic for the Republican Party (youth and Latinos and minorities), then Marco is your man.

A former Air Force pilot, Perry advocates muscular intervention on foreign policy. Perry has pledged that, if elected, he would kill any deal the United States reaches with Iran over its nuclear program.
And he has called for the United States to take a more active role diplomatically to remove Hamas's missiles from Gaza, calling Israel, which he has visited repeatedly, a "tremendous ally."

Rick Perry on Foreign Policy
: Jun 3, 2015Two-state solution in Israel is not realistic now

Where Rick Perry stands on key issues:

Iran and Israel:

Block or invalidate any nuclear deal with Iran.

A two-state solution in Israel is not realistic now.

Send U.S. ground troops to fight Islamic State. Increase airstrikes.

Perry announced that as president he would invalidate any nuclear deal the Obama administration reaches with Iran. He believes the current deal would allow Iran to build a nuclear weapon in the future.
Writing on Facebook, he argued that sanctions against Iran should not be lifted until Congress agrees.

Perry said he would like to see a two-state solution to tensions between Israel and Palestinians but that he does not think that is realistic now. He has expressed strong support of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Lindsey Graham on Foreign Policy
: Jun 1, 2015Work with Iran to fight ISIS, but no to Iranian nuclear deal

A member of the Senate Armed Services, Graham has strongly opposed the framework nuclear deal currently under negotiation between the Obama administration and the government in Tehran. The senator wants full, anytime access for international inspectors
to Iranian facilities and insists that Iran pledge that it will not attempt to destroy Israel. Graham has defended Israel's actions in the West Bank and accused the Obama administration of adding to tension with the Jewish state.

Known as a strong
proponent of the use of American military force, Graham proposes sending 10,000 U.S. troops to fight Islamic State. He believes the U.S. ultimately will have no choice but to send more combat troops to the region. He has long advocated the use
of airstrikes, applauding the White House for attacks it approved in September. Graham said in 2014 that the U.S. should work with Iran to coordinate the fight against Islamic State and to keep Iraq stable.

Martin O`Malley on War & Peace
: May 30, 2015Two-state solution between Israel and Palestine

O'Malley would work for a two-state solution between Israel and Palestinians.
O'Malley advocates a two-state solution between Israel and Palestinians and has said, as allies, both the United States and Israel need to work to ease the tension between them.

Rick served eight years on the Senate Armed Services Committee where he led the fight before the attacks of September 11, 2001 to transform our military from a Cold War force to meet today's threats. He was a leader on US-Israeli relations, authoring
both the "Syria Accountability Act" and the "Iran Freedom and Support Act" which he successfully fought to pass in spite of initial opposition by President Bush. Rick firmly believes that we cannot allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon.

Fiorina would like Congress to intervene in the Iran nuclear negotiations and says the U.S. would support Israel if it broke off talks now. In general, she wants more inspections, verifications and compliance from Iran before the
United States lifts any sanctions. Fiorina is watchful of Russia's role in the process and has said Putin is on a quest to regain Russian dominance in the world.

Ben Carson on Homeland Security
: May 3, 2015Shia-led Iran is more dangerous than ISIL

On Iran, Carson says Congress must be involved in Iran deal. In his CPAC remarks this year, Carson expressed concern that the Shia-led government in Iran may be more dangerous than the Islamic State militant group. On CNN, he was critical of
President Obama's negotiations with Iran, saying Congress needed a strong role in the process. He supported Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech to Congress [denouncing Obama's nuclear limitation deal with Iran].

Ted Cruz has taken heat for appearing at a fundraiser at the home of two openly gay men. At that private event, he was asked how he would react if he found out one of his daughters was gay, and he said he would love her unconditionally.

Cruz vigorously
defended his appearance at the fundraiser, stressing that it was primarily a pro-Israel fundraiser. "Unfortunately, our good friends in the press caricature support for traditional marriage in terms of animus," he said. "The only explanation that makes
sense to reporters is that anyone who supports traditional marriage must be somehow motivated by hatred for those who are homosexuals. It's why this story seems so puzzling to the media."

Cruz said he is concerned that women like the owner of an
Indiana pizzeria will suffer because they oppose gay marriage. "Scripture commands us to love everyone, & that ought to be a standard that applies across the board," he said. Cruz said liberals are obsessed with "mandatory gay marriage in all 50 states."

Israeli cafes and buses are bombed, towns are victimized by hundreds of rockets, and its citizens are attacked by Palestinian terrorists. It's time we took a stand for Israel by standing up to the enemies of Israel, the enemies that murder Israeli
citizens.

That's why I proposed a bill called the "Stand with Israel Act" to cut off the flow of U.S. taxpayer dollars to the Palestinian Authority. As long as the Palestinian Authority is allied with Hamas not one more tax dollar should flow to them.

David French on Foreign Policy
: Apr 1, 2015ICC should focus on Hamas war crimes, not Israel in Gaza

The International Criminal Court "welcomed" Palestine as a "State Party." Most of the coverage focused on the implications for Israel, as the PA has declared its intentions to file complaints against Israel for its conduct in the 2014 Gaza conflict.
A non-ideological ICC would laugh these claims out of court on a number of grounds--including that Israel goes far beyond the historic requirements of the Law of Armed Conflict in its concern for minimizing civilian casualties and because it has its
own robust means of investigating and punishing alleged war crimes. A non-ideological ICC would focus on Hamas's consistent intentional war crimes, including deliberately targeting civilians, its use of civilians and civilian buildings to shield its
own military activities, and its refusal to fight in uniforms or other distinctive insignia to help distinguish between combatants and non-combatants. The list could go on. For Hamas, war crimes represent the totality of their military strategy.

Mike Huckabee on Foreign Policy
: Mar 29, 2015Governors have world views; I've been all over the Mideast

Q: You got good reviews when you were governor of Arkansas for the most part. But do you consider yourself qualified to handle foreign policy? What can you bring to that?

HUCKABEE: Well, a lot of people don't know my first trip to the Middle East was
in 1973, 42 years ago, when I was all of 17. I have been to the Middle East several dozen times. Just got back from Israel last month, was there three times just last year. I have been to virtually every country that we talk about, whether it's Egypt,
Jordan, Israel, Iraq, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, the Emirates, Kuwait, Turkey, Pakistan, India. This is a part of the world with which I am familiar firsthand. And as a governor, I also met with many world leaders, as well as CEOs of multinational
corporations. And, frankly, most governors do. I think it's sometimes perceived that governors don't have much of a world view. I would tend to take issue that that is not always the case.

Conducting the foreign policy of a great nation requires maturity and a strategic sense of America's long-term interests. With Israel, those interests lie in a firm alliance. A state for the Palestinian people, side by side with Israel, will be possible
only if the Palestinian people are represented by leaders committed to delivering on the promises made at the negotiating table. Ultimately, the most fruitful efforts for peace come in moments when America's word is trusted and America's commitment is
certain. Anyone who claims to pursue peace in the region--especially between Israel and her neighbors--must know that Israel will make no sacrifices for peace when she feels threatened.

The future success of American foreign policy in the Middle East--
and the world--will require a fresh approach. One that takes to heart the realities of the region. One that rebuilds the friendships we once enjoyed. One that reminds our enemies of our determination.

KAINE: I don't feel a distancing of Democrats from Israel, but I do feel there has been an effort by some in the Republican Party to push Democrats out of the relationship with Israel.
Our party has a long tradition of being pro-Israel, and being pro-Israel doesn't mean we agree on everything, but we're friends, we're allies, we're partners and to the extent we have disagreements we try to work them out productively.

Q: Is there room in the Democratic Party for members who are not pro-Israel?

KAINE: Everyone I know in this party is pro-Israel. This doesn't mean we agree on everything. I have very deep concerns about the path that leadership is following with
respect to trying to find an actual implementation to what was agreed upon in Oslo in the early 1990s. We've got some disagreements, but I don't know a single senator who is not pro-Israel, Democrat or Republican.

Click for Tim Kaine on other issues.
Source: The Forward, "Kaine on Israel," by Nathan Guttman

David French on War & Peace
: Mar 1, 2015Stop responding to Iranian nukes with fear and timidity

One of the most puzzling aspects of America's relationship with Iran is the reality that--by rhetoric and conduct--the United States acts as if it fears Iran, while Iran behaves as if it has nothing to fear from the US. Iran commits repeated acts of war
against the US, unlawfully holds our citizens and violates their human rights, wages proxy wars against us, and vows to destroy our close ally Israel. Yet we constantly respond to these provocations--if we respond at all--with fear and timidity, as if
Iran is the greater power.

In the real world, we have the power to end their nuclear program at any time. In the real world, we have the power to collapse their economy without war. In the real world, Iran has by far the most to lose in any
pre-nuclear confrontation. But that calculus changes if and when Iran gets the bomb. It would immediately present a true existential threat to Israel and the US.

The United States is the superpower in this confrontation. It's time we acted like it.

Rick Perry's speech at CPAC focused mostly on foreign policy issues. Perry showed off some newly-found foreign policy chops in a plainspoken speech at CPAC, emphasizing pressing national security issues like ISIS, Iran's nuclear program and the nation's
relationship with Israel: "At no time in the last 25 years has the future been more uncertain and the world been more dangerous than it is today," Perry said, slamming President Obama's response to ISIS and Russia as "naive, dangerous and misguided."

"Here's the simple truth about our foreign policy: Our allies doubt us and our adversaries are all too willing to test us," he said.

Perry, however, devoted the crux of his appearance to bashing Obama, whose years in office he compared to some
of the worst catastrophes to befall the country in recent generations. "This country's been through a lot. We went through a civil war; two world wars; we will survive the Obama years too," he said.

Scott Walker on Homeland Security
: Feb 26, 2015Build up U.S. military to take out ISIS entirely

On ISIS, Walker stated, "you've got to take them out entirely--it takes a combination of building up force in terms of the United States military, which I think has fallen to woefully low levels here, it standing up with our allies like Israel, it means
working with other allies around the world, but it also means making partners even in the Arab world--Jordan, certainly Turkey, Saudi Arabia and others--Egypt, for sure, of late have seen what's happened, they want a leader in America."

Click for Scott Walker on other issues.
Source: Breitbart.com on 2015 Conservative Political Action Conf.

We do not want Iran to have nuclear weapons. Iran's nuclear weapons would be of immediate threat to Israel. It's not just about Israel. If Iran gets nuclear weapons, Saudi Arabia has said we're going to get nuclear weapons. Turkey hasn't said it quite
so clearly. But believe me, they're going to get nuclear weapons. There are other nations that don't have nuclear weapons who will get them if Iran does. You see what I call the illogical logic of nuclear proliferation.

Everybody wants Iran not to have nuclear weapons. We have a diplomatic opening. We release $500 million a month to Iran over 6 months. In exchange, they destroy their 20% enriched uranium cap, all their other enrichment and allow daily inspections
If we do our part, and if they do their part, then we will build some trust and we can see whether there's a next step.

Governor Cuomo will lead international trade missions to markets including Mexico, Canada, Italy, China, Israel, and Cuba. Cuba is unique. Since 1960, trade and travel to and from Cuba have been largely restricted. Now, the doors to this market
of more than 11 million people are being opened to New Yorkers, and New York businesses. In the coming weeks, Governor Cuomo will lead a special trade mission to Cuba to expand opportunities for New York's businesses across a multitude of sectors.

Click for Andrew Cuomo on other issues.
Source: State of the State address to 2015 New York Legislature

Barack Obama on War & Peace
: Jan 20, 2015I will veto any new sanctions against Iran

With respect to Iran, where, for the first time in a decade, we've halted the progress of its nuclear program and reduced its stockpile of nuclear material. Between now and this spring, we have a chance to negotiate a comprehensive agreement that
prevents a nuclear-armed Iran; secures America and our allies--including Israel; while avoiding yet another Middle East conflict. There are no guarantees that negotiations will succeed, and I keep all options on the table to prevent a nuclear Iran.
But new sanctions passed by this Congress, at this moment in time, will all but guarantee that diplomacy fails--alienating America from its allies; and ensuring that Iran starts up its nuclear program again. It doesn't make sense.
That is why I will veto any new sanctions bill that threatens to undo this progress. The American people expect us to only go to war as a last resort, and I intend to stay true to that wisdom.

Bush outlined a series of principles as necessary for an effective U.S. foreign policy: "The appropriate traditional foreign policy," Bush said, "requires you to nourish the alliances that exist in the world and have kept us safe. That means NATO.
That means our relationship with Israel. These alliances have been built by American leadership and we need to nourish them so that they're real rather than just paper tigers."

Bush also blamed Obama for "gutting the military and our intelligence capabilities in a world where these asymmetric threats are real." Bush concluded that "in every one of those four or
five principles of foreign policy I would say that the president's let us down." In explaining Obama's failures, Bush noted, "you need to lead, and reacting is not leadership."

Click for Jeb Bush on other issues.
Source: Theodore Kettle on Newsmax.com, "Rise of ISIS"

KING: I think it's a terrible mistake. Iran is powerful enough. Ultimately they are the main threat in that part of the world, and to be doing anything at all to build them up, to give them
sanctuary, to in effect have them on our side, what does that do to Israel? What does that do to their nuclear development in plan? I think it weakens our position. I cannot understand why we want to get Iran involved.

The president said absolutely no
US boots on the ground in a combat role. Will US forces at some point have to get involved in some kind of a combat role?

KING: Well, we already have American troops on the ground. We have Special Forces there. They are obviously in harm's way.
And I don't see how ultimately we can avoid putting combat troops on the ground in some capacity. But more than that, I don't know why the president says up front that we're not going to put boots on the ground. Don't take anything off the table.

Rick Perry on Foreign Policy
: Aug 3, 2014There shouldn't be any air between us & our best ally Israel

Q: Of late, you have been criticizing the Obama administration for its stance toward Israel. Governor, you have talked about the president's policy of "calculated ambivalence." What exactly are you talking about?

PERRY: When you have the president and
his administration trying to second-guess Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, then I think you see what I'm making reference to: the idea that our best ally in the Middle East, the longest-serving democracy in that part of the world, that there's any air
between us and Israel is beyond me. I don't understand why this administration would criticize Israel for trying to protect their citizens and their country from a group who have clearly stated that they will not be satisfied until Israel is wiped off

Q: We have heard the president and Secretary Kerry talk about Israel's right to defend itself. They did express their worries about the large number of civilian casualties that seem to be taking place in Gaza.

PERRY: The fact is, you have
Hamas that are using their children to protect their missiles, and I think Prime Minister Netanyahu was very specific when he said that Israel uses their missiles to protect their children. There is a very different perspective, and a very different
result in those two statements, and, frankly, in the two organizations.

Q: Governor, you have long been a staunch supporter of Israel. But when you look at the 1,700-plus Palestinian deaths in Gaza, the large majority of which are civilians, what is
your reaction?

PERRY: War is a horrible thing. There are individuals who lose their lives. But when Hamas is actually using their citizens as shields, at that particular point in time, it loses a lot of the power, if you will, from my perspective.

When it comes to Israel, I would condemn the U.N. human rights report that holds [Israel's] role responsible for the activity here. The U.N. human's right report is a joke. The U.N. has becoming more anti- Israeli, anti-Semitic.
I would push back, Congress will do this, Senators Schumer, Menendez and myself, we're going to push back against this report.
When it comes to Syria and Iraq, I would come up with a military game plan in coordination with the regional allies to stop ISIS from growing in strength.
I would push political reconciliation in Baghdad but I'd come up with a military plan to stop these terrorist organizations from growing in strength before they hit our homeland.

Lindsey Graham on War & Peace
: Jul 20, 2014Israel: stay as long as needed in Gaza to deal with Hamas

Q: There are reports this morning of a serious escalation in the war in Gaza. What are you hearing?

GRAHAM: I'm hearing there may be some Israelis casualties coming from the tunnels where they come out into Israel. But my view of the Israeli operation:
Stay as long as you need to stay, go wherever you need to go, do deal with a viper's nest called Hamas. If I were Israel, I would stay in Gaza as long as I needed to, to stop the rockets for good.

Q: When you see a ground operation moving in this direction, resulting in heavier Israeli casualties, do you have any words of caution for Israel?

GRAHAM: My only words to the Israeli government and people is, "Clear it out. Close the tunnels. Shut
down the rocket sites. Stay as long as you need to stay." Over 1,500 rockets have been fired. The only reason they have as few Israeli casualties is because of Iron Dome [missile defense]. If it's left up to Hamas, thousands of Israelis would be dead.

Mrs. Clinton said it was a mistake in retrospect to demand in 2009 a complete freezing of Israeli settlement construction as a precursor to peace talks.
This allowed the Arab states and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to essentially stand back from negotiations until the U.S. could deliver on Obama's demand:

"That made it very hard for either one to climb down or compromise. The Arab states were happy to sit on the sidelines and use the dust-up as an excuse for their own inaction.
And Abbas, who had consistently called for a halt to settlement construction for years, now claimed it was all our idea and said he wouldn't come to the peace table without a moratorium on settlement construction." (Page 316)

Clinton devotes many pages to her fealty to Israel, and to her understanding of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who fell from power then rose to it again: "I am not alone in feeling so personally invested in Israel's security and success," she
writes. "Many Americans admire Israel as a homeland for a people long oppressed and a democracy that has had to defend itself at every turn. In Israel's story we see our own, and the story of all people who struggle for freedom and the right to chart
their own destinies."

Clinton has long paid heed to her standing among Jewish supporters, and she was clear in public comments in the last several months she remains "skeptical" about Iran's commitment to a true nuclear freeze deal.

The many sections on Israel--and on her role in negotiating a ceasefire in Gaza--serve a political purpose. But they also reflect the significance of Israel for any secretary of State, especially as the Arab Spring protests were unfolding.

CRUZ: Well, you know, I just got back last week from traveling to Israel and Ukraine and Poland and Estonia. One of the things Ambassador Rice said that was absolutely correct is that
American is the indispensable leader. But what our allies are expressing over and over again is that leadership is missing.
And the most frequent thing you hear when you talk to an ambassador, a foreign minister of our friends and allies is they pull you aside quietly in hushed tones; they say, "Where is America?"
When America's weak, when the American president is weak, it leaves our friends and allies vulnerable.

Rand Paul on Foreign Policy
: May 24, 2014Eventually end all foreign aid, but unrealistic for now

The issue of aid to Israel also came up last year in a meeting with the board of the Republican Jewish Coalition. Members pressed the senator, and he conceded that while he would eventually like to terminate all foreign aid, he knew that would not be
realistic now. "You could see he was a work in progress," said a member of the Jewish coalition's board. "He's thinking about these issues; he's trying to learn."

Part of Paul's strategy is to appear before audiences that are not necessarily friendly to him, such as the Heritage Foundation, where he left the impression that he knew he must evolve.

Some observers say this is the evolution of a savvy
politician with presidential ambitions. Paul says it is more like a slow reveal. "I've been expressing gradually where my foreign policy is," he said. "Foreign policy isn't set in stone. It isn't either-or. And it isn't always right or wrong."

Jeb Bush on Foreign Policy
: Mar 28, 2014Neo-isolationism and American passivity both have dangers

Jeb Bush attacked the White House's approach to foreign policy in a speech given to the Republican Jewish Coalition. Bush focused on economic policy in his remarks but also impressed the pro-Israel group with his defense of muscular American foreign
policy.

"He showed a lot of knowledge about foreign policy that he must have been working hard to acquire," said Ari Fleischer, the former White House Press Secretary and a board member of the RJC, noting Bush discussed diplomatic challenges presented
by countries like Ukraine, Russia and Moldova. "He was very rough on the president in terms of his handling of foreign policy, referring to the dangers of 'American passivity.'"

The son and brother of presidents, Bush cautioned the Republican party
against "neo-isolationism," a line universally understood as a shot at Rand Paul. Bush also pushed back on Democratic attacks that whenever a Republican calls for a more activist foreign policy that they are "warmongering."

Russians are selling weapons to the Egyptian government for the first time since the early 1970s, threatening Israel.

Iran, working with Russia and running rings around
Obama, Clinton and Kerry in nuclear arms talks.

In Latin America we see Russia re-establishing influence in Cuba and in Venezuela, threatening our own hemisphere.

In China you've got a major military build-up going on, building their first blue
water Naval capability, ladies and gentlemen, while Obama scoffs at our declining Navy.

But worst of all, worst of all, is Libya. Libya is the paradigm of the Obama doctrine's failures. The attack in Benghazi on September 11, 2012 was a direct attack
on the US.

We do not accept an America that is weak & declining. We do not accept an American military that is weak & poorly equipped, and in particular, we do not accept and American president who is weak, indecisive and apologetic about our country

Ted Cruz on Foreign Policy
: Mar 7, 2014To make a deal, Iran must recognize Israel as Jewish state

Echoing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Cruz slammed U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and called on Iran to recognize Israel as 'Jewish state.' When Kerry stated that he may strike a deal to lift economic sanctions on Iran in exchange for
an agreement for that country to temporarily halt its uranium enrichment program, Cruz expressed grave concerns: "If the reports are correct, this is a terrible deal, and it is dangerous for America. We should have insisted on good-faith measures before
meeting with the Iranians directly, such as the release of Pastor Saeed Abedini and the acknowledgment of Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state. Prime Minister Netanyahu has taken the extraordinary step of condemning what is happening in
Geneva as a 'very, very bad deal.' President Obama should not abandon our friend and ally Israel, and he should not cut a deal that endangers the national security of the United States.

In September 2014, Cruz was the keynote speaker at an event held by the watchdog group "In Defense of Christians",
a conference dedicated to raising awareness about persecuted Christians in the Middle East. When Cruz argued that Christians have "no greater ally" than Israel, he was heckled.

"Let me say this: Those who hate Israel hate America. And those who hate Jews hate Christians," Cruz said as the audience's heckling increased. "If you will not stand with
Israel and the Jews, then I will not stand with you," Cruz told the audience as he walked off the stage amid a mixed chorus of cheers and boos.

Iran poses a grave threat not only to Israel and the Middle East, but also to the US and the entire world. It is the world's leading state sponsor of terror and continues to violate United Nations Security Council Resolutions in its pursuit of nuclear
weapons. That is something we cannot allow. Strong economic sanctions on Iran have been enacted with my strong support. We must take decisive action against this dangerous regime and keep all options on the table. I have endorsed:

H.R. 3783--requiring a comprehensive strategy to counter
Iran's growing presence and hostile activity in the Western Hemisphere

H.R. 1905--requires that sanctions be fully and effectively implemented to compel the Iranian regime to end its illicit activities.

Click for Peter King on other issues.
Source: Congressional website, peteking.house.gov, "Issues"

Peter King on War & Peace
: Sep 9, 2013Steadfastly support Israeli defense against Syria

As unrest continues to rock the Middle East, it is more important than ever that the United States steadfastly support the Jewish State's right to defend itself.
The volatility in Syria presents substantial security risks to Israel and the world, particularly in terms of the power vacuum and the country's weapons stockpiles.
On the Egyptian border, there is instability in the Sinai and a stream of weapons smuggling into Gaza. Moreover, President Morsi has made disgusting comments about Jews.
I will remain vigilant in monitoring the various regime changes in the Middle East and their impact on Israel.

Click for Peter King on other issues.
Source: Congressional website, peteking.house.gov, "Issues"

Graham wound up his case on Syria intervention by raising the stakes considerably. He painted a frightening picture of cascading world events that would reverberate far beyond the borders of a civil war in one Middle Eastern country.
If the US doesn't deal with Syria, Graham promised Iran would acquire a nuclear weapon by 2014, the King of Jordan would be deposed and Israel would start preparing to protect itself. "I believe that if we get
Syria wrong, within six months--and you can quote me on this," Graham said, pausing for dramatic effect. "There will be a war between Iran and Israel over their nuclear program." But it wouldn't even end there, Graham surmised.
Undoubtedly, he said ominously, the Iranians would share its nuclear technology with US enemies. "My fear is that it won't come to America on top of a missile, it'll come in the belly of a ship in the Charleston or New York harbor," he said.

Q: The intelligence suggests this was a sarin gas attack at the hands of the Assad government. Is that enough for you to now vote to authorize the president to use force?

PAUL: No. And I think it's a mistake to get involved in the Syrian civil war.
I would ask, "Do you think that it's less likely or more likely that chemical weapons will be used again if we bomb Assad?" Is it more likely or less likely that we'll have more refugees in Jordan or that Israel might suffer attack? I think all of the
bad things that you could imagine are all more likely if we get involved in the Syrian civil war.

Q: Secretary Kerry says for you and others not to authorize force is really hurtful to US credibility.

PAUL: The one thing I'm proud of the president
for is that he's coming to Congress in a constitutional manner & asking for our authorization. That's what he ran on: his policy was that no president should unilaterally go to war without congressional authority. And I'm proud that he's sticking by it.

On his 8-day trip to Israel, Jordan & the Palestinian territories, O'Malley said, "I'm sure all of you will ask me foreign policy questions. I respect your right to ask them, and I hope you'll respect my right to shy away from answering them."

On the
news of the day--apparent differences between Obama and the Israeli military on whether chemical weapons had been deployed by the Syrian military--O'Malley deferred to the president's judgment. "It's certainly one of the great challenges," he allowed.

Asked whether the American people, weary from a decade of wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, would be ready to engage in another military operation to stop Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, O'Malley avoided specifics. "I believe that the president will
make that call," he said, "and the president will have the primary responsibility of making that case to the American people and also to Congress."

How about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? "All of us hope for peace in the Middle East."

Governor O'Malley, 50, said it was his third visit to Israel, and that he had brought with him about 50 high-tech executives, Jewish leaders, and Maryland officials for what is essentially a trade mission. After a side trip to Jordan in which he met with
Prince Faisal--"What we spoke about was the huge challenge that the ongoing conflict in Syria has for the entire region"--much of his itinerary here is filled with companies that have offices in his home state,
including one that makes radar for the vaunted Iron Dome missile defense system.

A reporter pointed out that on his way into Bethlehem, he would see the controversial separation barrier Israel has erected in the West Bank.
O'Malley said he had seen something similar in Northern Ireland. "They call it the peace wall," he noted.

Joe Biden on Foreign Policy
: Mar 4, 2013Jewish state of Israel is only way to ensure "Never Again"

My education started at my father's dinner table. My father was what you would have called a righteous Christian. It was at that table I first heard the phrase, "Never again." It was at that table that I learned that the only way to ensure that it could
never happen again was the establishment and the existence of a secure, Jewish state of Israel.

I remember my father, a Christian, being baffled at the debate taking place at the end of World War II talking about whether or not to establish the
State of Israel. My father would say, were he a Jew, he would never, never entrust the security of his people to any individual nation, no matter how good and how noble it was, like the United States.

President Obama shares my commitment. We both know that Israel faces new threats, new pressures and uncertainty. The threats to Israel's existence continue, but they have changed as the world and the region have changed over the last decade.

Click for Joe Biden on other issues.
Source: Speech at the AIPAC Policy Conference

The Arab Spring, at once full of both hope and uncertainty, has required Israel--and the United States--to reassess old and settled relationships. Iran's dangerous nuclear weapons program, and its continued support of terrorist organizations, like
Hezbollah and Hamas, not only endanger Israel, but endanger the world.

All these pressures put enormous pressure on the State of Israel. We understand that. And we especially understand that if we make a mistake, it's not a threat to our existence.
But if Israel makes a mistake, it could be a threat to its very existence. And that's why, from the moment the President took office, he has acted swiftly and decisively to make clear to the whole world and to Israel that even as circumstances have
changed, one thing has not: our deep commitment to the security of the state of Israel. That has not changed. That will not change as long as I and he are President and Vice President. It's in our naked self-interest, beyond the moral imperative.

Click for Joe Biden on other issues.
Source: Speech at the AIPAC Policy Conference

Under this administration, we've invested $275 million in Iron Dome, including $70 million to increase the production of Iron Dome batteries and interceptors.

Not long ago, I would have had to describe to an audience what Iron Dome was, how it would
work, why funding it mattered. I don't have to explain to anybody anymore. Everybody gets it. Last year, Iron Dome made a difference. When Hamas rockets rained on Israel, Iron Dome shot them out of the sky, intercepting nearly 400 rockets in November
alone. It was our unique partnership--Israel and the US--that pioneered this technology and funded it.

And it is in that same spirit that we're working with Israel to jointly develop new systems, called Arrow and David's Sling, interceptors that can
defeat long-range threats from Iran, Syria and Hezbollah. And we are working to deploy a powerful new radar, networked with American early warning satellites, that could buy Israel valuable time in the event of an attack.

Click for Joe Biden on other issues.
Source: Speech at the AIPAC Policy Conference

We're mindful that pursuing a better future for Israel means helping Israel confront the myriads of threat it faces in the neighborhood. It's a tough neighborhood, and it starts with Iran. It is not only in Israel's interest that Iran does not acquire a
nuclear weapon, it's in the interest of the United States of America. It's simple. And, as a matter of fact, it's in the interest of the entire world.

Iran's acquisition of a nuclear weapon not only would present an existential threat to Israel,
it would present a threat to our allies and our partners--and to the United States. And it would trigger an arms race--a nuclear arms race in the region, and make the world a whole lot less stable.

So we have a shared strategic commitment. Let me make clear what that commitment is: It is to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. Period. End of discussion. Prevent--not contain--prevent.

Click for Joe Biden on other issues.
Source: Speech at the AIPAC Policy Conference

The US and Israel have a shared interest in Syria. Assad has shown his father's disregard for human life and dignity, engaging in brutal murder of his own citizens. Our position on that tragedy could not be clearer: Assad must go. But we are not signing
up for one murderous gang replacing another in Damascus.

That's why our focus is on supporting a legitimate opposition not only committed to a peaceful Syria but to a peaceful region. We're carefully vetting those to whom we provide assistance.
That's why, while putting relentless pressure on Assad and sanctioning the pro-regime, Iranian-backed militia, we've also designated al-Nusra Front as a terrorist organization.

And because we recognize the great danger Assad's chemical and biological
arsenals pose to Israel and the US, to the whole world, we've set a clear red line against the use of the transfer of the those weapons. And we will work together to prevent this conflict and these horrific weapons from threatening Israel's security.

Click for Joe Biden on other issues.
Source: Speech at the AIPAC Policy Conference

We have a shared strategic commitment with Israel. Let me make clear what that commitment is: It is to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. Period. End of discussion. Prevent--not contain--prevent.

The President has flatly stated that.
And he always says--he'll turn to other people and say, "as Joe would say, big nations can't bluff." Well, big nations can't bluff. And Presidents of the United States cannot and do not bluff. And President Obama is not bluffing. He is not bluffing.

We are not looking for war. We are looking to and ready to negotiate peacefully, but all options, including military force, are on the table. Our strong preference, the world's preference is for a diplomatic solution. So while that window is
closing, we believe there is still time and space to achieve the outcome. We are in constant dialogue, sharing information with the Israeli military & Israeli intelligence, and we're taking all the steps required to get there.

Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: Joe Biden speech at the AIPAC Policy Conference

Here's one thing I've learned as commander in chief. You've got to be clear, both to our allies and our enemies, about where you stand and what you mean. Now, it is absolutely true that we cannot just beat these challenges militarily, and so what
I've done throughout my presidency and will continue to do, is:

Make sure that these countries are supporting our counterterrorism efforts;

Make sure that they are standing by our interests in Israel's security, because it is a true friend and
our greatest ally in the region.

Make sure that we're protecting religious minorities and women because these countries can't develop unless all the population--not just half of it--is developing.

Develop their economic capabilities.

Recognize that we can't continue to do nation building in these regions. Part of American leadership is making sure that we're doing nation building here at home. That will help us maintain the kind of American leadership that we need.

OBAMA: A nuclear Iran is a threat to our national security, and it's a threat to Israel's national security.

ROMNEY: I think the tension that existed between Israel and the United States was very unfortunate.

STEIN: We're seeing the candidates
very similar to each other. They're both vowing their obedience to the right-wing government in Israel. And they are both saying that they will stop at nothing, but that war will be the last result.
So, once again, we're seeing shades of gray here between the Democratic and Republican candidates, but we're not seeing what the American people really need and what international security really needs. And in fact, I should add that this slave-like
mentality towards Israel is absolutely unjustified. We need to start raising the bar for Israel and holding them to an equal standard for supporting human rights and international law and ending occupations and illegal settlements and apartheid.

Barack Obama on War & Peace
: Oct 22, 2012I will stand with Israel if they are attacked

Q: Would you be willing to declare that an attack on Israel is an attack on the US? Wouldn't that deter Iran?

OBAMA: Well, first of all, Israel is a true friend. It is our greatest ally in the region. And if Israel is attacked, America will stand with
Israel. I've made that clear throughout my presidency.

Q: So you're saying we've already made that declaration?

OBAMA: I will stand with Israel if they are attacked. And this is the reason why, working with
Israel, we have created the strongest military and intelligence cooperation between our two countries in history. But to the issue of Iran, as long as I'm president of the US, Iran will not get a nuclear weapon. A nuclear Iran is a threat to our
national security and it's threat to Israel's national security.

ROMNEY: When I'm president of the United States, we will stand with Israel. And if Israel is attacked, we have their back, not just diplomatically, not just culturally, but militarily.

ROMNEY: The reason I call it an "apology tour" is because you went to the Middle East and you flew to Egypt and to Saudi Arabia and to Turkey and Iraq. And you skipped Israel, our closest friend in the region, but you went to the other nations, and they
noticed that you skipped Israel.

OBAMA: When I went to Israel as a candidate, I went to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust museum there, to remind myself the nature of evil and why our bond with Israel will be unbreakable. And then
I went down to the border towns of Sderot, which had experienced missiles raining down from Hamas. And I saw families there who showed me where missiles had come down near their children's bedrooms, and I was reminded of what that would mean
if those were my kids, which is why, as president, we funded an Iron Dome program to stop those missiles. So that's how I've used my travels when I travel to Israel and when I travel to the region.

Joe Biden on War & Peace
: Oct 11, 2012Iran is not close to nuclear weapons; stop the bluster

RYAN: When Barack Obama was elected, Iran had enough fissile material to make one bomb. Now they have enough for five. They're racing toward a nuclear weapon. They're four years closer toward a nuclear weapons capability.

BIDEN: We feel quite confident
we could deal a serious blow to the Iranians. But #2, the Israelis and the US--our intelligence communities are absolutely the same exact place in terms of how close the Iranians are to getting a nuclear weapon. They are a good way away. When [Ryan]
talks about fissile material, they have to take this highly enriched uranium, get it from 20% up. Then they have to be able to have something to put it in. There is no weapon that the Iranians have at this point. Both the Israelis and we know we'll know
if they start the process of building a weapon. So all this bluster I keep hearing--Let's all calm down a little bit here. Iran is more isolated today than when we took office. It was on the ascendancy when we took office. It is totally isolated.

Roseanne Barr on War & Peace
: Oct 4, 2012Stop the endless clamoring for war with Iran

Q: What are the actual issues in Israel, with regards to Iran?

A: The issues are Netanyahu's endless clamoring for war with Iran, which we know will basically amount to a "fly-by" bombing, a beat-down, that will kill innocent civilians.
Look, Ahmadinejad's rhetoric is just that, the blustery saber-rattling of a nation ringed by superior military power on every front. Iran is looking down the barrel of Israel's massive nuclear arsenal and the most superior military, by far,
in their part of the world. Speaking of honesty: does it make someone "anti-Israel' to point to the fact that Israel has always been coy and elusive about what everyone knows is their nuclear capability, while they demand to know exactly what
Iran is up to? I think not. Prime Minister Netanyahu, convinced that Tehran is pursuing nuclear weapons, says the Islamic Republic must be stopped and has devoted his 3 1/2 year term to rallying international support against the Iranians.

Mitt Romney on War & Peace
: Sep 30, 2012No daylight between the United States and Israel

The president began his term with the explicit policy of creating "daylight" between our two countries. He recently downgraded Israel from being our "closest ally" in the
Middle East to being only "one of our closest allies." It's a diplomatic message that will be received clearly by Israel and its adversaries alike.
He dismissed Israel's concerns about Iran as mere "noise" that he prefers to "block out." And at a time when Israel needs America to stand with it, he declined to meet with
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. [We should have] no daylight between the United States and Israel.

Click for Mitt Romney on other issues.
Source: Romney's editorial in the Wall Street Journal

Asked about the possibility that Iran could acquire a nuclear weapon, Brown criticized Warren for not adopting a tough enough response. "We cannot have a nuanced approach that Professor Warren wants," he said.

Warren said she also supports Israel and is opposed to allowing Iran to gain nuclear arms. She also praised Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Obama, saying he's "done a first-rate job. He's taking nothing off the table."

Click for Elizabeth Warren on other issues.
Source: North Adams Transcript on 2012 Mass. Senate debate

Peace, freedom, and civilized values have enemies in this world, as we have been reminded by events in Egypt, Libya, and Yemen. [Our enemies] are extremists who operate by violence and intimidation. And the least equivocation or mixed signal only makes
them bolder. Look across that region today, and what do we see?

The slaughter of brave dissidents in Syria.

Mobs storming American embassies and consulates.

Iran 4 years closer to gaining a nuclear weapon.

Israel, our best ally in the
region, treated with indifference by the Obama administration.

Amid all these threats & dangers, what we do not see is steady, consistent American leadership. In the years ahead, American foreign policy needs moral clarity and firmness of purpose.
Only by the confident exercise of American influence are evil and violence overcome. That is how we keep problems abroad from becoming crises. That is what keeps the peace. And that is what we will have in a Romney-Ryan administration.

Roseanne Barr on Foreign Policy
: Aug 31, 2012Self-determination and right of return for Palestinians

Peace will begin in Israel and Palestine with people speaking to each other, intelligently, about solutions. Self-determination and the right of return is needed for Palestinians who have had their land stolen from them.
The US government must reject war support for Israel, the Wall must come down and people must begin their own discussions in order to work out their differences.

Mitt Romney on Foreign Policy
: Aug 30, 2012A free world is a more peaceful world

Every American is less secure today because he has failed to slow Iran's nuclear threat. In his first TV interview as president, Obama said we should talk to Iran. We're still talking, and Iran's centrifuges are still spinning.

President Obama has thrown allies like Israel under the bus, even as he has relaxed sanctions on Castro's Cuba. He abandoned our friends in Poland by walking away from our missile defense commitments, but is eager to give Russia's President
Putin the flexibility he desires, after the election. Under my administration, our friends will see more loyalty, and Mr. Putin will see a little less flexibility and more backbone.

We will honor
America's democratic ideals because a free world is a more peaceful world. This is the bipartisan foreign policy legacy of Truman and Reagan. And under my presidency we will return to it once again.

Q: What's your stand on the Israel/Palestine conflict and US foreign policy more generally?

A: Israel/Palestine is a microcosm of broader US foreign policy principles, and our foreign policy needs to come into harmony with principles of human rights,
nonviolent conflict resolution and a respect for international law--which haven't been there at all in Israel/Palestine and more globally. So, in Israel/Palestine, we need to start holding all parties accountable.
All of the various factions responsible in Palestine and in Israel, for stopping human rights violations, so that assassinations are not accepted, so that apartheid is not accepted etc. We need to ask all parties to come up to the same standards of
respect of human rights. We need to stop, in particular, being Israel's enabler of being the more powerful prohibitor of human rights. Occupation is unacceptable.

Rick Santorum on War & Peace
: Jan 7, 2012Stay in Afghanistan until security of our country is secure

Q: Would you send troops back into Iraq right now?

SANTORUM: Well, I wouldn't right now, but we need someone who has a strong vision for the region and we have not had that with this president. He has been making mistakes at every turn in Iran, in
Egypt, I would argue, Libya, Syria, Israel. All of these places, he has made mistakes on the ground that have shown the people in that region that we are the weak horse. That is something that cannot happen because it will cause events like you're seeing
in the Straits of Hormuz. There will be push. America is soft and so they can be pushed around. That's what this administration has done. They did it by withdrawing from Iraq, and [the same] if we get out of Afghanistan. Let's just wait and see how
things turn out when the United States isn't there and see how consequential our efforts were for the stability of that region.

Do Palin and Bachmann both support Israel's 1967 borders? (Yes, both). Would Palin and Bachmann both deny terrorists their criminal rights? (Yes, again).
We cite details from Bachmann's books and speeches, and Palin's, so you can compare them, side-by-side, on issues like these:

Q: You caused a stir in the Middle East by calling the Palestinians "an invented people." The chief Palestinian negotiator said, "These statements of Gingrich will be the ammunition of the bin Ladens and the extremists for a long, long time."

GINGRICH:
How would he know the difference? Look, is what I said factually correct? Yes. Is it historically true? Yes. Are we in a situation where every day, rockets are fired into Israel while the US tries to pressure the Israelis into a peace process? A
Palestinian Authority ambassador said, "There is no difference between Fatah and Hamas. We both agree Israel has no right to exist." Somebody ought to have the courage to tell the truth: These people are terrorists. They teach terrorism in their schools.
They have textbooks that say, "If there are 13 Jews and nine Jews are killed, how many Jews are left?" We pay for those textbooks through our aid money. It's time for somebody to have the guts to stand up and say, "Enough lying about the Middle East."

Mitt Romney on War & Peace
: Dec 10, 2011Disagree with Israelis in private; stand with them in public

Q: Speaker Gingrich caused a stir in the Middle East by calling the Palestinians "an invented people." Are they?

ROMNEY: I happen to agree with most of what the speaker said, except by going down and saying the Palestinians are an invented people.
That I think was a mistake on the speaker's part. I think the speaker would probably suggest that as well.

GINGRICH: No.

ROMNEY: Israel does not want us to make it more difficult for them to sit down with the Palestinians. Ultimately, the
Palestinians and the Israelis are going to have to agree on how they're going to settle the differences between them. My view is this: We stand with the Israeli people. We link arms with them. If we disagree with them, like this president
has time and time again, we don't do it in public like he's done it, we do it in private. And we let the Israeli leadership describe what they believe the right course is going forward.

Rick Santorum on War & Peace
: Nov 12, 2011Work with Israel to take out Iranian nukes by force

Gingrich [to Santorum]: [To avoid Iran gaining a nuclear weapon, we need] first, maximum covert operations, to block and disrupt the Iranian program, including taking out their scientists, including breaking up their systems. Second, maximum coordination
with the Israelis, in a way which allows them to maximize their impact in Iran. And if in the end, despite all of those things, the dictatorship persists, you have to take whatever steps are necessary to break its capacity to have a nuclear weapon.

Santorum: I disagree with Newt: more sanctions and providing more support for the pro-democracy movement isn't going to be enough. We should be working with Israel right now to do what they did in
Syria, what they did in Iraq, which is take out that nuclear capability before the next explosion we hear in Iran is a nuclear one and then the world changes.

Mitt Romney on Foreign Policy
: Sep 22, 2011Unacceptable for Iran to become a nuclear nation

Q: How would you approach the new reality for our ally, Israel, and the existential threats it faces from Iran, Hamas, and Hezbollah?

ROMNEY: Very simple. You start off by saying that you don't allow an inch of space to exist between you and your
friends and your allies. The president went about this all wrong. He went around the world and apologized for America. He addressed the United Nations in his inaugural address and chastised our friend, Israel, for building settlements and said nothing
about Hamas launching thousands of rockets into Israel. The right course for us is to stand behind our friends, to listen to them, and to let the entire world know that we will stay with them and that we will support them and defend them. And with
regards to Iran, which perhaps represents the greatest existential threat to Israel, we have to make it abundantly clear: It is unacceptable--and I take that word carefully--it is unacceptable for Iran to become a nuclear nation.

Gary Johnson on War & Peace
: Aug 21, 2011Let Israel deal with Iranian nukes; not US role to tell them

Q: Do you agree with Ron Paul that Iran is not a threat?

A: I think Israel is an important military ally and I support that alliance. I think Iran gets dealt with by Israel, which is likely to stop
Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. I think it's wrong for our government to presume to tell Israel what to do.

Click for Gary Johnson on other issues.
Source: Interview by Scott Holleran on scottholleran.com blog

Sarah Palin's endorsement [in the Kentucky GOP Senate primary] gave us a boost that energized supporters, brought in new ones, and, of course, annoyed my opponent and his Republican bosses to no end.

Palin wanted to know my position on Israel.
I said that Israel was an important ally, the only democracy in the Middle East, and that I would not condemn Israel for defending herself. Later, after Palin's endorsement of me, she was grilled about it on FOX News. Of course, she defended it.

Click for Rand Paul on other issues.
Source: The Tea Party Goes to Washington, by Rand Paul, p. 78

In Feb. 2010, Biden had just completed a rousing speech in Jerusalem and had vowed "absolute, total, unvarnished commitment to Israeli security" when the Israeli interior ministry announced that 1,600 new housing units would be built in East Jerusalem.
The ministry said the decision had been 3 years in the making, had nothing to do with Biden's arrival. Biden immediately condemned the decision in scathing terms, calling it "precisely the kind of step that undermines the trust we need right now."

Biden thereupon delayed his arrival as a demonstration of his disapproval. The next day Biden went on to the Palestinian Territory. There he told Authority President Mahmoud Abbas that the latest Israeli decision "undermined that very trust that we need
right now in order to have profitable negotiations," and was "why I immediately condemned the action." He said his criticism came "at the request of Pres. Obama," which drew applause, addition that "sometimes only a friend can deliver the hardest truth."

Obama repeated the familiar reasons for ignoring the elected government led by Hamas: "To be a genuine party to peace," Obama declared, "the Quartet [US, EU, Russia, UN) has made it clear that Hamas must meet clear conditions: recognize
Israel's right to exist; renounce violence; and abide by past agreements."

Also near-universal are the standard references to Hamas: a terrorist organization, dedicated to the destruction of Israel (or maybe all Jews). Hamas has called for a 2-state
settlement in the terms of international consensus: publicly and repeatedly. Israel and the US object that the Hamas proposals do not go far enough.
Perhaps so, but they surely go much farther toward the international consensus than the firm and unwavering US-Israeli rejectionist stance, reiterated obliquely by Obama in his State Department talk.

The Obama-Netanyahu-Abbas meetings in May 2009 have been widely interpreted as a turning point in US Middle East policy.

The consensus calls for a Palestinian state to be established in united Gaza and the West bank after Israel's withdrawal. The Arab
Peace Initiative adds that the Arab states should then normalize relations with Israel. The initiative was later adopted by the Organization of Islamic States, including Iran.

Obama has praised the initiative and called on the Arab states to proceed to
normalize relations with Israel, scrupulously evading the core of the proposal: reiteration of the international consensus. His studied omission can only be understood as [the same] US rejectionist stand that has blocked a diplomatic settlement since the
1970s, with rare and temporary exceptions. There are no signs that Obama is willing even to consider the Arab Peace Initiative. That was underscored in Obama's much heralded address to the Muslim world in Cairo on June 4, 2009.

In his June 4, 2009 address to the Muslim world in Cairo, Obama once again echoed Bush's "vision" of two states, without saying what he means by the phrase "Palestine state." His intentions are clarified by his one explicit criticism of Israel: "The
US does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements. This construction violates previous agreements and undermines efforts to achieve peace. It is time for these settlements to stop. "That is, Israel should live up to Phase I of the 2003
Road Map, rejected at once by Israel with tacit US support, as noted--through the truth is that Obama has ruled out even steps of the Bush I variety to withdraw from participation in these crimes.

On Israel-Palestine, rumors began circulating that Obama might depart from the US rejectionism that has blocked a political settlement for over thirty years. The record, however, never provided any basis for taking rumors seriously.

Before the
primaries, I reviewed Obama's formal positions at the time. They gave no reason for any expectations beyond enthusiastic support for Israeli crimes. Particularly revealing was his reaction to Israel's sharply accelerated assault on Gaza, opening its
violation of the cease-fire on Nov. 4, 2008, as voters were going to the polls to elect Obama, then breaking out in full fury on Dec. 27 after rejection of Hamas initiatives to reinstate the cease-fire. To these crimes Obama's response was silence--
unlike, say, the late November terrorist attack in Mumbai, which he was quick to denounce, along with the "hateful ideology" that lay behind it. In the case of Gaza, his staff hid behind the mantra that "there is one president at a time."

John Bolton on War & Peace
: May 18, 2010Drone strikes don't get Mirandized; why should others?

The campaigns in Afghanistan and Pakistan employ armed drone aircraft to target and kill terrorist leaders and supporters, although, needless to say, the targets don't get Miranda rights read to them. The administration seems unwilling to reconcile these
strikes with how it handles terrorists captured in the US. Already, there are international complaints that the drone attacks are precisely the kinds of "targeted" or "extra-judicial" killings complained about for years when undertaken by Israel.

Click for John Bolton on other issues.
Source: Obama is Endangering our Sovereignty, by J. Bolton, p. 31-32

The campaigns in Afghanistan and Pakistan employ armed drone aircraft to target and kill terrorist leaders and supporters, although, needless to say, the targets don't get Miranda rights read to them. The administration seems unwilling to reconcile these
strikes with how it handles terrorists captured in the US. Already, there are international complaints that the drone attacks are precisely the kinds of "targeted" or "extra-judicial" killings complained about for years when undertaken by Israel.

Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: Obama is Endangering our Sovereignty, by John Bolton,p.31-32

John Bolton on War & Peace
: May 18, 20102008: Supported Israeli military operations in Gaza Strip

The UN's recent Goldstone report on Israel's 2008-2009 Operation Cast Lead against Hamas in the Gaza Strip criticized Israel for violations of the law of war, such as the "disproportionate use of force," in ways that severely undermine Israel's
inherent right of self-defense. If such conclusions become widely accepted, they will obviously have direct and substantial effects on our ability to undertake our own self-defense, which is, of course, exactly what the globalists have in mind.

Click for John Bolton on other issues.
Source: Obama is Endangering our Sovereignty, by John Bolton, p. 30

CAMPBELL: Let's talk about the threat that Israel and the US face from nuclear-armed Iran, which is huge. The responsibility of the US is to support Israel, if Israel needs to use military force to take the potential of nuclear tipped weapons away from
Iran.

FIORINA: I certainly agree that we need to be extremely concerned about Iran and I believe that we have lost a year to President Obama's failed engagement policy. The time has come for us to impose crippling sanctions unilaterally if necessary.
We should be cutting off all access for Iran's leaders and for the Iran Revolutionary guard core to financial institutions to credit, to travel. We should be limiting Iran's imports for fined petroleum. And we should also stand very firmly with the brave
men and women in Iran who are challenging the repressive Government and take advantage of the fact that there is a historic split in the theocracy in Iran--the first time in 25 years that that's happened.

Q: Should the Palestinians have their own territory? And should the capital in Jerusalem be shared?

FIORINA: The peace process ultimately must include a two-state solution. However, I do not support the notion that Jerusalem should be a divided capital
Tom Campbell apparently does.

CAMPBELL: No, that's not true.

FIORINA: Well, you were one of only 34 people in the entire House of Representatives in 1990 to vote against Jerusalem being the undivided capital of Israel.

CAMPBELL:
The motion was a political maneuver to embarrass President George H. W. Bush.

FIORINA: That's a really interesting, and frankly intellectually contorted explanation. The reality is, 33 other congress people agreed with you, everyone else disagreed.
The vast majority of Congress people were not embarrassed by this supposedly diplomatic maneuver.

CAMPBELL: The Prime Minister of Israel at the time was prepared to discuss a solution that involved as shared capital in Jerusalem.

Mitt Romney on Homeland Security
: Mar 2, 2010Strengthen soft power because it is real power

It is long past time for America to strengthen and effectively deploy our soft power. There should be no misunderstanding of the fact that soft power is REAL power; that it can and does affect world events. The Lebanon War in 2006 is one example.

When
conflict broke out between Hezbollah and Israel, many observers were surprised to see Hezbollah garner so much support among the Lebanese people. Hezbollah was launching rockets from Lebanese neighborhoods, making them the open targets of Israeli
retaliation, but nonetheless, the Lebanese people cheered Hezbollah.

A good deal of the support for Hezbollah stemmed from deep-seated anti-Israel resentment. But it was also the result of Hezbollah's long effort to help the Shia community by building
village schools and other social services. Israeli officials explained that Hezbollah contributed only a few million dollars a year to this effort, but it was money very effectively spent. In this instance, soft power meant real power for the Hezbollah.

Sarah Palin on Foreign Policy
: Feb 6, 2010Reaching out to hostile regimes has not worked

Misguided thinking is seen throughout the administration's foreign policy decisions. Our president spent a year reaching out to hostile regimes, writing personal letters to dangerous dictators and apologizing for America, and what do we have to show for
that? Here's what we have to show. North Korea tested nuclear weapons and longer-range ballistic missiles. Israel, a friend and critical ally, now questions the strength of our support. Plans for a missile defense system in Europe, they've been scrapped.
Relations with China and Russia are no better. and relations with Japan, that key Asian ally, they are in the worst shape in years.

The administration cut support for democracy programs. And where the president has not been clear, I ask where is his
clear and where his strong voice of support for the Iranians who are risking all in their opposition to Ahmedinijad? We need a foreign policy that distinguishes America's friends from her enemies and recognizes the true nature of the threats that we face

Jesse Jackson, speaking before a World Policy Forum in France, suggested that an Obama presidency would put an end to excessive "Zionist" influence in American foreign policy. In a subsequent "clarification,"
Jackson repudiated the column and confirmed that he "has never had a conversation with Sen. Obama about Israel or the Middle East."

Obama's camp was again forces to issue a strong denial: "Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. is not an adviser to the
Obama campaign and is therefore in no position to interpret or share Barack Obama's views on Israel and foreign policy. As he has made clear throughout his career and throughout this campaign, Barack Obama has a fundamental commitment to a strong
U.S.-Israel relationship, and he is advised by people like Dennis Ross, Daniel Kurtzer, Rep. Robert Wexler, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, and Senator Joe Biden who share that commitment."

Q: If Iran attacks Israel, would you be willing to commit US troops in defense of Israel? Or would you wait on approval from the UN Security Council?

McCAIN: We obviously would not wait for the United Nations Security Council. Both Russia and
China would probably pose significant obstacles.

OBAMA: We cannot allow Iran to get a nuclear weapon. It would be a game-changer in the region. Not only would it threaten Israel, our strongest ally in the region and one of our strongest allies in the
world, but it would also create a possibility of nuclear weapons falling into the hands of terrorists. And so it’s unacceptable. And I will do everything that’s required to prevent it. And we will never take military options off the table. And it is
important that we don’t provide veto power to the UN or anyone else in acting in our interests. It is important, though, for us to use all the tools at our disposal to prevent the scenario where we’ve got to make those kinds of choices.

Joe Biden on Foreign Policy
: Oct 2, 2008Bush’s approach to middle east has been disastrous

Q: How would you solve Israel/Palestinian conflict?

BIDEN: No one in the Senate has been a better friend to Israel than Joe Biden. I would have never joined this ticket were I not absolutely sure Barack Obama shared my passion. But you asked whether
this administration’s policy had made sense. It has been a failure. Bush insisted on elections on the West Bank, when I said, “Big mistake. Hamas will win.” What happened? Hamas won. We kicked Hezbollah out of Lebanon, I said, “Move NATO forces in there.
Fill the vacuum, because if you don’t, Hezbollah will control it.“ Now what happened? Hezbollah is a legitimate part of the government. We will change this policy with diplomacy that understands that you must let Israel negotiate and stand with them, not
insist on policies like this administration has.

PALIN: A two-state solution is the solution. That needs to be done, and that will be a top agenda item under a McCain-Palin administration. Israel is our strongest and best ally in the Middle East.

Sarah Palin on Foreign Policy
: Oct 2, 2008Two-state solution for Israel/Palestine is a top priority

Q: How would you solve Israel/Palestinian conflict?

PALIN: A two-state solution is the solution. That needs to be done, and that will be a top agenda item under a McCain-Palin administration. Israel is our strongest and best ally in the Middle East.

BIDEN: No one in the Senate has been a better friend to Israel than Joe Biden. I would have never joined this ticket were I not absolutely sure Barack Obama shared my passion. But you asked whether this administration’s policy had made sense. It has been
a failure. Bush insisted on elections on the West Bank, when I said, “Big mistake. Hamas will win.” What happened? Hamas won. We kicked Hezbollah out of Lebanon, I said, “Move NATO forces in there. Fill the vacuum, because if you don’t, Hezbollah will
control it.” Now what happened? Hezbollah is a legitimate part of the government. We will change this policy with diplomacy that understands that you must let Israel negotiate and stand with them, not insist on policies like this administration has.

PALIN: Both are extremely dangerous. And as for who coined that central war on terror being in Iraq, it was the Gen. Petraeus and al Qaeda, and it’s probably the only thing that
they’re ever going to agree on. An armed, nuclear Iran is so extremely dangerous. Israel is in jeopardy when we’re dealing with Iran. Others who are dangerous dictators are ones that Barack Obama has said he would be willing to meet with without
preconditions. And that goes beyond naivete and poor judgment.

BIDEN: Pakistan already has nuclear weapons. Iran getting a nuclear weapon would be destabilizing, but they are not close to getting a nuclear weapon that’s able to be deployed. John
continues to tell us that the central war on terror is in Iraq. I promise you, if an attack comes in the homeland, it’s going to come from al Qaeda in the hills of Pakistan. We need to support that democracy by helping them with their economic well-being

A: We shouldn’t second guess Israel’s security efforts because we cannot ever afford to send a message that we would allow a second Holocaust, for one.
Israel has got to have the opportunity and the ability to protect itself. They are our closest ally in the Mideast. We need them. They need us.
We don’t have to second-guess what their efforts would be if they believe that it is in their best interests to fight against a regime, especially Iran, who would seek to wipe them off the face of the earth.
It is obvious to me who the good guys are in this one and who the bad guys are. The bad guys are the ones who say Israel is a stinking corpse and should be wiped off the face of the earth. That’s not a good guy who is saying that.

Sarah Palin on War & Peace
: Sep 11, 2008Nuclear Iran is dangerous to whole world

Q: Do you consider a nuclear Iran to be an existential threat to Israel?

A: I believe that under the leadership of Ahmadinejad, nuclear weapons in the hands of his government are extremely dangerous to everyone on this globe.

Q: So what should we do
about a nuclear Iran?

A: We have got to make sure that nuclear weapons are not given to those hands of Ahmadinejad, not that he would use them, but that he would allow terrorists to be able to use them. So we have got to put the pressure on Iran.

Barack Obama on Foreign Policy
: Jul 22, 2008My record on Israel is same as McCain’s

Q: You’re heading to Israel next?

A: Yes.

Q: According to a recent poll out of Jerusalem, Israeli Jews favor John McCain for President 43% to 20%. Why do you think that’s the case?

A: Well, I’m not as well known as John McCain.
I think that’s obviously a factor. And, you know, I think, understandably, Israelis are very interested in making sure that whoever takes the White House is absolutely committed to their security, regardless of other issues. And they know John McCain.
He’s been there. Despite the fact that my record is as strong as John McCain’s on all the issues related to Israeli security, people just don’t know me as well. That’s part of the reason why we’re gonna spend a day visiting there in discussions and
hopefully give people confidence that I have a track record that will assure not only the people of Israel, but friends of Israel back home, that, in fact, Israel’s security is paramount.

Q: How likely do you think a preemptive military strike by Israel against Iran may be?

A: I will not hypothesize on that. I think Israel has a right to defend itself. But I will not speculate on the difficult judgment that they would have to make in a
whole host of possible scenarios.

Q: This is not a speculative question then. Was it appropriate, in your view, for Israel to take out that suspected Syrian nuclear site last year?

A: Yes. I think that there was sufficient evidence that they were
developing a site using a nuclear or using a blueprint that was similar to the North Korean model. There was some concern as to what the rationale for that site would be. And, again, ultimately, I think these are decisions that the
Israelis have to make. But, you know, the Israelis live in a very tough neighborhood where a lot of folks, publicly proclaim Israel as an enemy and then act on those proclamations.

Q: You said not too long ago that Jerusalem should remain undivided. And then you backtracked on that statement.

A: There was no backtracking. We just had phrased it poorly in the speech. But my policy has been very consistent. It’s the same policy tha
Bill Clinton has put forward, and that says that Jerusalem will be the capital of Israel, that we shouldn’t divide it by barbed wire, but that, ultimately that a final status issue that has to be resolved between the Palestinians and the Israelis.

Barack Obama on War & Peace
: Jul 22, 2008Engaging in tough diplomacy with Iran is a sign of strength

Q: There is skepticism in Israel about you because they’re concerned about your previously stated notion of having talks with Iranian leaders, that somehow that signals to them that you won’t be tough enough to Iran. What’s your response to that?

A:
Well, I’m encouraged to see, for example, the Bush administration send an outstanding diplomat, [Undersecretary of State William] Burns, to participate in discussions with Iran. This is what I’ve been talking about for the last year and a half.
You know, engaging in tough diplomacy is not a sign of weakness; it’s a sign of strength. So far the Iranians have not accepted the kinds of talks that we need to deal with in terms of suspending their enrichment program.
But the fact that we’ve tried to talk to them then strengthens our hand in the international community when we wanna get Russia or China to help apply the tough sanctions that are gonna be required to make Iranians know that we mean business.

Q: You recently supported Jerusalem as the undivided capital of Israel. Why not support the Clinton plan, which envisions a divided Jerusalem, the Arab half being the capital of a Palestinian state, the Jewish half being the capital of the Jewish state?

A: The truth is that this was an example where we had some poor phrasing in the speech. The point we were simply making was, is that we don’t want barbed wire running through Jerusalem, similar to the way it was prior to the ‘67 war,
that it is possible for us to create a Jerusalem that is cohesive and coherent. I think the Clinton formulation provides a starting point for discussions between the parties. The intention was never to move away from that core idea that a
Jewish state depends on their ability to create peace with their neighbors, and that the Palestinian leadership has to acknowledge that the battles that they’ve been fighting, and the rhetoric they’ve been employing, has not delivered for their people.

Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: CNN Late Edition: 2008 presidential series on Zakaria’s GPS

Q: Doesn't Obama have an experience problem? Just this week he had to backtrack when he told a pro-Israel group that he supported keeping Jerusalem as the undivided capital of Israel and then had to backtrack from that. Doesn't he have an issue there?

GOV. KAINE: Well, let me just talk about the Jerusalem issue. He says he believes personally that Jerusalem should be undivided. But this is a matter of negotiation that's ongoing between Israel and Palestinian leaders right now.
And he says he respects that process. They're negotiating that. They're going to decide what the right framework is. He expressed a personal preference and a belief. The issue of experience is fundamentally about judgment. Senator Obama said in '02 this
war would be a big mistake. It's not about whether we win the war; it's about whether we win the right war. We need to win the war against terrorism.

Barack Obama on War & Peace
: Apr 16, 2008Take no options off the table if Iran attacks Israel

Q: Iran continues to pursue a nuclear option that poses a threat to Israel. Should it be US policy to treat an Iranian attack on Israel as if it were an attack on the US?

OBAMA: Our first step should be to keep nuclear weapons out of the hands of the
Iranians. I will take no options off the table when it comes to preventing them from using nuclear weapons, &that would include any threats directed at Israel or any of our allies in the region.

Q: So you would extend our deterrent to Israel?

OBAMA:
It is very important that Iran understands that an attack on Israel is an attack on our strongest ally in the region, one that we would consider unacceptable, and the US would take appropriate action.

Q: Sen. Clinton, would you?

CLINTON: We should be
looking to create an umbrella of deterrence that goes much further than just Israel. I would make it clear to the Iranians that an attack on Israel would incur massive retaliation from the US, but I would do the same with other countries in the region.

Q: Iran continues to pursue a nuclear option that poses a threat to Israel. Should it be US policy to treat an Iranian attack on Israel as if it were an attack on the US?

OBAMA: I will take no options off the table. It is very important that Iran
understands that an attack on Israel is an attack on our strongest ally in the region, and the US would take appropriate action.

CLINTON: I think that we should be looking to create an umbrella of deterrence that goes much further than just Israel.
Of course I would make it clear to the Iranians that an attack on Israel would incur massive retaliation from the US, but I would do the same with other countries in the region. We are at a very dangerous point with Iran. The Bush policy has failed.
Iran has not been deterred. #1, we’ve got to begin diplomatic engagement with Iran. #2, we’ve got to deter other countries from feeling that they have to acquire nuclear weapons. And finally, we cannot permit Iran to become a nuclear weapons power.

Renewing American Diplomacy: Obama will talk to our foes as well as our friends, and he will restore American leadership and alliances abroad.

Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Obama will make progress on the Israeli-
Palestinian conflict a key diplomatic priority. He will make a sustained push--working with Israelis and Palestinians--to achieve the goal of two states, a Jewish state in Israel and a Palestinian state, living side by side in peace and security.

A: Well, many of us believe that. Earlier this year, Senator Edwards told an audience in Israel that the nuclear threat from Iran was the greatest threat to our generation.
Back in 2004, Senator Obama told the Chicago Tribune Editorial Board that he would even consider nukes to take out Iran’s nuclear capacity. So there was a very broadly based belief that they were pursuing a nuclear weapon.

Mike Huckabee on Foreign Policy
: Nov 25, 2007Israel should not give up West Bank or Golan Heights

Q: Should Israel give up the West Bank?

A: No, I don’t think so. I have been to Israel 9 times. I have been all throughout the Middle East. Anyone who goes to Israel, and just understands the unique geography and the unique tension that surrounds that
area, it would be very problematic for Israel to give up the West Bank, from their own standpoint of security. The same thing with the Golan Heights--giving up the Golan Heights makes most of Galilee a sitting target. Now it’s their government.
They’ll make that decision, not me. But I certainly could not encourage them to give up the West Bank.

Q: If they’re not going to give up the West Bank or the Golan Heights, what are they going to negotiate about?

A: There are a lot of options that
involve other territory that doesn’t have to include the West Bank or the Golan Heights. But let’s be honest, there is not going to be some instant kumbaya moment. The best we can hope for is that there will be some level of loosening of the hostilities.

Q: Do you support a two-state solution, Israel and Palestine side by side, as Pres. Bush says he supports?

A: Well, I would want to see where that side-by-side exists, because if you do something that puts the Israelis in a position of ultimate
vulnerability, that may not be a healthy solution. You’ve got to realize that there are people in that region who have stated that their primary purpose is to annihilate Israel, to do away with them. And if you surround them by hostility and give them
very little room in which to maneuver, you may not have created anything other than a very, very temporary peace, but for a long-term disaster.

Q: So I guess you’re not ready to endorse a two-state solution yet?

A: Not until you see where those two
states are going to be located and whether or not there is going to be some guarantee of security and concessions on the part of the nations that would surround Israel. And the Israelis would have to be comfortable with it.

On a visit to Gaza City in 1998, Hillary met with Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat and his wife and declared, well ahead of the official line from the White House, her support for a Palestinian state.
Her husband’s spokesperson had to distance him from her comment.

As a senator, however, one of her first major speeches was to AIPAC, the Israeli lobby group where she pledged to work to send more money, not for peacekeeping, or to both sides, but for
Israel’s military. (She’s spoken to AIPAC many times since.)

On the fortieth anniversary of the Israeli occupation of West Bank and Gaza, Clinton joined the rest of the
Senate in sending a message of congratulations and support to the Israeli government. No encouraging message went to the Palestinians still enduring occupation.

Most important was the effort to repeal General Assembly Resolution 3379, the infamous 1975 text equating Zionism with racism, and a clear effort to delegitimize Israel. Passage of "Z/r" as we called it, had instead delegitimized the UN in the minds of
many Americans.

During the Cold War, there was essentially no chance that the Soviets would give up their hard-won victory. With the advent of glasnost and perestroika in the Soviet Union, however, I saw the possibility of righting the historic wrong
represented by "Z/r" and also demonstrating that the US might actually be able once again to win highly contentious votes in the General Assembly. Yes, Resolution 3379 was a shameful thing, but it would be a huge effort to repeal. "Let it lie on the
shelves and gather dust" was the way one Soviet diplomat put it to me.

Persistence paid off. As one of its last official acts before it dissolved, the Soviet Union voted to repeal the resolution it had inspired. "Z/r" was dead.

Mike Huckabee on Foreign Policy
: Sep 17, 2007Don’t pressure Israel to give up land for promise of peace

Q: Past presidents have expected Israel to give up land, not for peace but for the promise of peace. With this mindset, Pres. Bush introduced the “roadmap” in 2003, yet 60 terrorist acts are attempted & 300 rockets fall every month in Israel. Will you
stand behind Israel to not give up land for unfulfilled promises of peace, even in the face of opposition of European & Arab countries?

Hillary Clinton on War & Peace
: Sep 6, 2007Prevent Iran from becoming nuclear power by diplomacy first

Q: [to Clinton]: Would the Israelis be justified in taking military action if they felt their security was threatened by a nuclear presence in Iran?

CLINTON: I’m not going to answer that because it’s hypothetical.
There would need to be a high standard of proof.

Q: Rudy Giuliani said, “Iran is not going to be allowed to build a nuclear power. If they get to a point where they’re going to become a nuclear power, we will prevent them; we will set them back 8 to
10 years. That is not said as a threat; that should be said as a promise.“ Would you make that promise?

CLINTON: I will do everything I can to prevent Iran from becoming an nuclear power, including the use of diplomacy, the use of economic
sanctions, opening up direct talks. We haven’t even tried. That’s what is so discouraging about this. We need a concerted, comprehensive strategy to deal with Iran. We haven’t had it. We need it. And I will provide it.

Mitt Romney on War & Peace
: Sep 5, 2007Deal with Iran nukes with Dems at home & with allies abroad

Q: Would you go to war with Iran if they developed nuclear weapons & threatened Israel?

A: Well, clearly your hypothetical suggests that everything we’ve done, up until this point and beyond, didn’t work. And there’s a lot we can do to keep that
scenario from occurring. Before you actually take military action, what you do next is this: the president meets with leaders, Republican and Democrat, to make sure we’re all on the same page. We want to make sure that Democrats sign up, that we’re all
part of this on a unified basis. Number two, you meet with our allies around the world and make sure we’re on the same page on this, including China & Saudi Arabia. Now we take the military option off the table. When they see our military in our hand,
a possible blockade or possible aerial strikes, they recognize we mean business. And that’s going to make them think twice and, hopefully, abandon their folly. Because it is unacceptable to the world for us to have a nuclear Iran.

Home Instruction for Parents and Preschool Youngsters was developed in Israel in 1969 to help new immigrants prepare their young children to succeed in school. HIPPY empowers parents as their children's first teachers by giving them the tools, skills, and
confidence to work with their children at home. The program is designed to help those families coping with poverty.

In 1986, Hillary helped establish a HIPPY program in Arkansas. Hillary wrote, "When we brought HIPPY into rural areas and housing
projects in Arkansas, a number of educators and others did not believe that parents who had not finished high school were up to the task of teaching their children. Not only did the program help kids get jump-started in the right direction, it also gave
the parents a boost in self-confidence." In 1988, HIPPY USA was established as an independent NGO headquartered in New York City. There are now about 146 HIPPY programs in twenty-five states, serving more than sixteen thousand children anf their families.

Hillary Clinton on Families & Children
: Sep 4, 2007Grew AR Children's Hospital to one of nation's 10 largest

Hillary cofounded the Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families; served on the board of our Children's Hospital and helped with its fund-raising drive (it became one of the nation's ten largest children's hospitals in a state with o
2.8 million people); brought an excellent preschool program form Israel to poor families in our state; headed a task force that increased access to health care for people in small towns and rural areas; and chaired a committee that devel
standards for our schools.

Hillary did the things she did because she wanted to make a difference. And she did then because it made her happy to see another baby in a small town get health care, another young child smiling at her pre
ceremony, another student from a rural area become the first in his family to go to college, another woman break through the glass ceiling at a law firm.

In 1981, while the Clintons campaigned to win back the governorship, their pastor, Vaught approached them about a trip to Israel. As Bill and Hillary found themselves struggling spiritually and politically to put
Bill back in the governor’s mansion, the couple decided to go.

In contrast to the anti-Israel version of Hillary portrayed during parts of the 1970s, some sources claim this trip gave Hillary an inspired appreciation for the state of
Israel, and if so, it may have mitigated her alleged pro-PLO sympathies, giving more balance in her perspective. A friend of the Clintons says: “Bill and
Hillary understood the profound effect that Israel has on American Jews and around the world and share a feeling for the security and stability of the State of Israel.”

Q: Most of our closest allies, including Great Britain and Israel, allow gays and lesbians to openly serve in the military. Is it time to end “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy and allow gays and lesbians to serve openly in the US military?

PAUL: I think
the current policy is a decent policy. If there is homosexual behavior in the military that is disruptive, it should be dealt with. But if there’s heterosexual sexual behavior that is disruptive, it should be dealt with. So it isn’t the issue of
homosexuality.

HUCKABEE: It’s already covered by the Uniform Code of Military Conduct. I think that’s what Congressman Paul was saying. It’s about conduct, it’s not about attitude. You don’t punish people for their attitudes.
You punish them if their behavior creates a problem.

Q: So you wouldn’t change existing policy.?

HUCKABEE: I don’t think that I would. I think it’s already covered by the existing policy that we do have, in fact.

Hillary Clinton on Foreign Policy
: May 14, 2007Supported Palestine in 1998, before Bill officially did

In 1998, Hillary laid out her vision for the future of the Middle East: “It would be in the long-term interests of peace in the Middle East for there to be a state of Palestine, a functioning modern state that is on the same footing as other states.” The
White House raced to clarify the remarks as Hillary’s own.

Several months later, while attending a meeting of the Palestinian National Council, Hillary praised Yasser Arafat’s leadership and again called for the establishment of an independent
Palestinian state.

In 1999, while traveling in the Middle East, Hillary had a joint appearance with Yasser Arafat’s wife, Suha. Ms. Arafat took the occasion to accuse Israel of poisoning her people. It was an outlandish accusation, but it did not stop
Hillary from giving Suha a kiss when she finished talking.

Roll forward 8 months. Hillary, now a candidate for the Senate, called for moving the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, “the eternal & indivisible capital of Israel.”

Q: You said recently, “No one is suffering more than the Palestinian people.” Do you stand by that remark?

A: Well, keep in mind what the remark actually, if you had the whole thing, said. And what I said is nobody has suffered more than the
Palestinian people from the failure of the Palestinian leadership to recognize Israel, to renounce violence, and to get serious about negotiating peace and security for the region. Israel is the linchpin of much of our efforts in the Middle East.

Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: 2007 South Carolina Democratic primary debate, on MSNBC

Obama defended his remark that “nobody is suffering more than the Palestinian people,” a statement attacked by some pro-Israel activists. His version differed in tone if not in substance from the way it was originally reported, however. Obama claimed in
the debate that he meant “the Palestinian people from the failure of the Palestinian leadership to recognize , to renounce violence, and to get serious about negotiating peace and security for the region.” That’s somewhat different from the way
Obama was quoted March 12. As reported, Obama attributed Palestinian suffering to “the stalled peace efforts with Israel” and not so narrowly to failures by Palestinian leadership only. However, the Des Moines Register also reported that Obama praised
Israel as an important US ally and urged the Palestinian government to recognize Israel and renounce terrorism. So far as we can tell, the Register had the only reporter present at the event and no full transcript exists.

Mayor Bloomberg’s trip to Mexico today, his fourth visit to a foreign country in as many months, is adding fuel to the speculation that he is attempting to shore up his international credentials and raise his national profile in preparation for a White
House run.

Earlier this year, Bloomberg visited England, Ireland, and Israel, and he has shown up in the presidential swing states of Ohio and Florida. He made a high-profile visit to Los Angeles in September. Last week, he appeared in
Jersey City flanked by mayors and police officers to announce an advertising blitz for his national campaign targeting illegal guns.

Officials said today’s trip was planned to allow Bloomberg to examine
Mexico’s program that pays impoverished families for meeting certain health, education, and employment goals. Bloomberg has reached into his own pocket to help pay for a pilot program starting in N.Y. this fall that is modeled on one in Mexico.

Click for Mike Bloomberg on other issues.
Source: Grace Rauh, New York Sun

I’ve visited Israel 9 times, and strongly believe in its right to exist & the important example it has set forth in its seriousness toward its own security as well as the admirable expectation it has of its people to be stakeholders in its preservation.
Even though I support Israel, its boundaries, and its future, and believe its alliance with the US is one of great strategic value, a conversation with a Palestinian reminded me that the issue is not simple.

The Palestinian was relocated had been told
one day that he would be relocated to a Palestinian camp and that his neighborhood would be occupied by Israelis. It was always easy to me to understand why the Jews, having been displaced for thousands of years, would feel a divine right to return to
the land promised to their forefathers and previously taken from them. But Palestinians are still human beings who deserve to be treated respectfully since they personally have not done wrong and now are being forced from what has been their home.

The Israeli newspaper “Haaretz” convened a panel of experts to assess and track 2008 presidential candidates and evaluate “whom they consider best for Israel.” In Sept. 2006, Obama came in dead last, 18th in a field of 18. However, Haaretz also notes
that during the 2006 Israel-Lebanon war, Obama was careful to defend Israel’s right to defend itself against Hezbollah’s attacks.

Pro: Obama will be uniquely positioned to resolve the Israeli-Arab conflict.A liberal Democrat who is not
trusted by Israeli experts is exactly what the US and the world needs. Only by treating Palestinian rights with dignity can the Middle East problem be resolved.

Con: President Obama will be widely detested in the Muslim world.
If Obama comes to power, it will be on the basis of blending authentic Christian religiosity with an inspiring message of tolerance and diversity. Unfortunately, this message runs exactly opposite to the core values of fundamentalist Islam.

Hillary worked closely with Jewish leaders to oppose the International Court of Justice passing judgment on the legality of Israel’s security fence. Clinton released a statement supporting the fence as a “legitimate response” to terrorist attacks.

In 2004 Hillary stated that a suicide bombing in Jerusalem “shows the day-to-day danger that Israelis face and that has caused the Israeli government to decide that it must build a fence to protect its people.”

Rick Santorum on War & Peace
: Sep 3, 2006Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11, but still a necessary war

Q: President Bush said that Iraq had “nothing to do with Sept. 11th.” Do you agree with that?

SANTORUM: As far as we know, that’s the case. But that doesn’t mean that they didn’t have a working relationship with a variety of different terrorist
organizations. In fact, the Saddam Hussein government was giving terrorists bounties for killing Israelis.

Q: But knowing what you know now about the weapons of mass destruction, the primary rationale for the war, would you believe that the Iraq war
was a choice or a necessity?

SANTORUM: I believe that it was a war of necessity because they were a threat. It is important that we are in the Middle East right now and confronting this broad war against Islamic fascism. The bottom line is that we are
now almost 5 years from Sept. 11th. We have not had any kind of terrorist attack in this country, because we’ve taken it to them. We’ve disrupted their networks, not just in Afghanistan. Iraq was a state sponsor of terror, and we went after them.

Hillary Clinton on Foreign Policy
: Oct 17, 2005Obligation to support Israel with more than foreign aid

"Israel is our strongest ally into the Middle East. Now, more than ever, all democratic nations stand behind Israel as it fights against terrorism and for the principles all democracies share. Democratic nations throughout the world must
understand that turning their backs on Israel at this time would hurt all freedom loving nations."

(Senator Hillary Clinton, letter to Colin Powell, April 9, 2002)

"I believe it is our obligation as friends and supporters and
allies of Israel to support Israel's efforts for peace, stability and security. Now, this means doing more than providing Israel with economic aid so that it can remain strong in the face of ongoing threats. We must also demand that
President Abbas dismantle the structure of terror that the Palestinian leadership has employed for so long."

[The US should] use American moral authority and credibility to help achieve Middle East peace. Our first and immutable commitment must be to the security of Israel, our only true ally in the Middle East and the only democracy.
We must be consistent and we must include the EU and the Arab States in pressing for reforms within the Palestinian community.

Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: Press Release, “Renewal of American Leadership ”

Rahm Emanuel on Homeland Security
: Jun 21, 2004U.S. citizen but served in Israeli army

In 1991, we also persuaded another young Chicagoan, Rahm Emanuel, to join our campaign. Rahm had worked with Wilhelm in the successful campaigns of Mayor Richard Daley and Senator Paul Simon. He was a slight, intense ma who had studied ballet and,
though an American citizen, had served in the Israeli army. Rahm was so aggressive he made me look laid-back. We made him finance director, a job in which an underfunded campaign needs an aggressor.

Gov. Jeb Bush pledged to support Israel in its battle against terrorism and said Americans have a better understanding of the fear Israelis face daily after living through the Sept. 11 attacks. In a speech celebrating Israel's 56th Independence Day, Bush
lauded his brother, President Bush, for reinforcing the alliance between the two countries at a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Gov. Bush said the April 14 meeting "made little doubt about our country's commitment to Israel and the
vision of two states living in peace and security."

President Bush endorsed Sharon's offer to withdraw from Gaza and parts of the West Bank in exchange for concessions on settlements. Palestinians criticized the plan. Gov. Bush said, "This new US
policy, I think, will bring about the chance of lasting peace far better than the current status quo. And if there's any attempt to impose a different vision, the US is committed to intervene and provide support to the state of Israel."

Hillary faced a problem with Jewish voters after kissing Suha Arafat, the wife of Yasir Arafat, shortly after the first Lady of the Palestine Liberation Army charged Israelis with using poison gas on Palestinians. The first lady of the
United States explained that she hadn’t understood the translation of Madam Arafat’s remarks. When the actual and quite clear translation was made public and the excuse evaporated, she retreated to a mushier explanation, and then silence.

Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues.
Source: The Final Days, by Barbara Olson, p. 38

Q: Your views on the Mitchell Process, which lays out a road map toward meaningful political negotiations toward a final status of Palestine?

A: Our goal has been to make certain that we make steady progress toward getting back into the Mitchell plan.
It is also important that we work with other Arab leaders. The President does imagine a Palestinian state as a part of his vision for the future.

Q: Would East Jerusalem be the capital of such a state?

A: We understand the importance of Jerusalem to
the great religions of the world, and we believe that this is something that must be settled in final status negotiations.

A: Should people in the Arab world look forward to a US plan for the Middle East to be announced?

A: We are constantly
evaluating how we can best push the process of Middle East peace forward. I wouldn’t put any time line on what the US might do next. We really do believe right now that our best strategy is to work with the parties to get into the Mitchell Process.

Click for Condoleezza Rice on other issues.
Source: National Security Advisor Interview with Al Jazeera TV

Hillary Clinton on War & Peace
: Oct 28, 2000Cut off US aid if Palestine declares a state unilaterally

Q: In recent weeks, scores of people have been killed in the Middle East. In view of what’s happened, do you think there should be a Palestinian state now?

CLINTON: Only as part of a comprehensive peace agreement. That’s always been my position, that
[it should] guarantee Israel’s safety and security and the parties should agree at the negotiating table. A unilateral declaration is absolutely unacceptable and it would mean the end of any US aid.

LAZIO: That’s a change of heart for Mrs. Clinton,
because back in 1998 you called for a Palestinian state. You undercut the Israeli negotiating position. The people of New York want to have somebody who has a consistent record. For eight years I have been consistent and strong in my support for the
security of the state of Israel. Without equivocation. Without a question mark next to my name.

CLINTON: There is no question mark next to me. There’s an exclamation point. I am an emphatic, unwavering supporter of Israel’s safety and security.

Hillary Clinton on War & Peace
: Oct 28, 2000Focuses on increasing relationship between US and Israel

LAZIO [to Hillary]: It’s very hard to accept a claim of consistency [on Israel] when you called for a Palestinian state with full military powers. It’s difficult to accept that you are a consistent supporter when you stand on the sidelines while Suha
Arafat issues a blood libel suggesting that Israelis have been orchestrating an attack on Palestinian women and children with poison. It’s hard for us to imagine you’ve been a consistent supporter when you refused to support the law which says that we
should move our embassy to Jerusalem, not next year, but right now. For eight years I’ve wanted the embassy to be placed in Jerusalem. CLINTON: My positions for more than 20 years have been to do everything I could to support Israel and to increase the
relationships between the US and Israel. I’ve worked on everything from the National Council of Jewish Women’s program to bring a preschool instruction program for children of the US, to speaking out, time and time again, about violence and terrorism.

Hillary Clinton said she would oppose lifting the embargo against Cuba until democracy took root there. She said she would support paying America’s unpaid bills to the United Nations.
She once again voiced her support for Israel and, while praising the tentative cease-fire agreement between the Israelis and Palestinians reached Monday, she made it clear the burden was on Yasir Arafat to end the violence.

The U.S. must continue to nurture and safeguard our special relationship with the state of Israel. This relationship must remain the cornerstone of our policy tactics through the entire Middle-East region,
as it has been for administrations of both parties for more than half a century.

Why do we have this special relationship? It is not out of charity, guilt, or what some call “ethnic lobbies.”
We have been there for Israel because Israel is there for us. Israel is a stable democracy in a region filled with dictatorship.

As Israel has matured, our close ties also bring America a fair trading partner and a fellow pioneer
on the high-tech frontier of medicine and communications that will enrich Americans’ lives in the coming century. Our two countries must continue to stand strong together as pillars of freedom and progress.

Q: Do you see any backlash to Europeans buying up American companies and Europeans working here?

A: A lot of the knowledge-based immigration is not European. It is Asian. If you go down to Intel and you stand in the elevator, the software engineers
around you are likely to be Pakistani or Indian or Israeli or Russian, but I do not think that it is causing a backlash, maybe because the economy is so strong. There are people who want to make it a backlash, but it is not really resonating.

The long-term challenge is that as job creation is happening at the high end, the skill level of the population is not really picking up. So education has become a kind of surrogate hot-button issue for this divide between people who can work in Silicon
Valley and people who cannot. And because it is partly disproportionately minorities who are not making it into those jobs that is a real danger. It is less focused on foreigners coming here to do that than it is the ill-preparedness of Americans.

Hillary Clinton on War & Peace
: May 26, 2000Support Israel in finding a safe and secure peace

Hillary Clinton supports a move [of the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem]. She spoke more generally yesterday about what she called her longstanding respect for the country and its people. “The United States has been and
will be always there for Israel,” she said. “And we will always support the Israeli government and Israeli people as they struggle to find a safe and secure peace.”

She stayed away from more controversial topics, such as whether there should be an
independent Palestinian state. Mrs. Clinton angered many Jewish voters last year with when she voiced support for such a state. But the animosity felt by some in the crowd toward Mrs. Clinton was evident on nearly every block, with some holding signs
recalling her embrace last year of Yasir Arafat’s wife, Suha.

By working for peace, we are not being naive or soft-headed. We recognize that peace in the Middle East is not only a moral imperative, but the smartest strategic choice to ensure security for the children of Israel. That doesn’t mean that Israel can
ever let down her defenses. It doesn’t mean that her friends, especially the US, will ever be relieved of our responsibility to help Israel maintain her military strength.The work of peace and the work of democracy are neverending.

The message of Oslo [was]: How we can fulfill Rabin’s legacy by bidding farewell to generations of war and ushering in a new century of real and lasting peace? The same
must be true on all of Israel’s borders so that the peace that now covers some will be a peace that extends to all-Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese.